1/22/2010 : According to the York Daily Record/Sunday News, the Civil War Preservation Trust launched a campaign to raise funds to purchase a 2-acre piece of land on Emmittsburg Road, which runs through the Gettysburg Battlefield. The land and the houses that now occupy it were once part of the Philip Snyder Farm. This acreage, adjacent to Little Round Top and the Peach Orchard, played a major role in the Battle of Gettysburg and has been on the minds of the Park Service to acquire it someday. This property has now become available and the CWPT will try to purchase it and then sell it back to the National Park Service. Log onto their website and read how the Trust plans to buy this land.

Follow this journey of a sculpture, Robert H. Smith, who set out to show an incredible likeness of Abraham Lincoln for all the world to see and appreciate. One difference between this sculpture and all the others is that this Lincoln is life-size and you can sit on the bench next to him and have a chat about all things or of war. Mr Lincoln now resides in the Museum and Visitor Center and if you get the chance to visit Gettysburg, stop by and set a spell with Mr. President.

The Gettysburg National Military Park and the Gettysburg Foundation will offer a free, national broadcast on February 12, 2010. Schools and broadcast stations are invited to register for this event, which is called "Big Deal At Gettysburg: The Value of Historical Places". Follow this one hour broadcast and learn how one woman's quest for adding more prestige for her firm, using Gettysburg as the means to that end, learned a powerful lesson along the way. For more information about this broadcast, click on the Foundation link above, read about it on http://gettysblog.blogspot.com/  or contact Heidi Myers at 1-717-338-1243 or e-mail at programs@gettysburgfoundation.org.

It was quite a year, and now we begin anew. The first New Year Event for 2010 is the appointment of James Robert (Bob) Kirby who is the new Superintendent of Gettysburg National Military Park and the Eisenhower National Historic Site. The announcement came as the new year began on January 8, 2010.

I thought I would end the year by remembering all the happenings on and around the battlefield. Be sure to view the updated photographs of the Klingle Farm (Below). The Sarah Patterson House (pg.3) also has seen some renovation activities during the last few months. Click their title line article Updated in the journal pages to view the newest photos. Tree cutting did not stop entirely yet, see the photos below of the newest activity. It's been busy here in town, events from Halloween until Christmas were happening and I'll enter them here and then say goodbye to the old and prepare to ring in the New Year.

The tree cutting will go on until the deadline, which is scheduled in the new year. Active cutting is still going on in areas of the battlefield.

The trees come down all over the battlefield due to lightning strikes or age, this one (on East Confederate Avenue) laid in this same spot for weeks even though the trees were being cut down across the road.

These trees were felled during the early fall months.This road leads you through a beautiful, heavily wooded area towards Spangler Spring.

These Georgia boys showed up for a photo op at their state monument.

The members of the 9th Pennsylvania Reserves visit their monument.

The 9th Pennsylvania Reserves. Their story is one of my favorites, read on

November was celebrated in Gettysburg with parades and ceremonies and speeches that honored all those who served in this battle. This is Remembrance Day in Gettysburg and it's worth a chilly trip here to witness these re-enactments and remember well what "they" did here.

Enjoying Gettysburg after the Blizzard of 2009. Even with all the snow, it is still the place to be at Christmas.

A view of Historic Chambersburg Street and the James Gettys Hotel south of the square.

The Gettysburg Christmas Tree, a town tradition.

One of the great preserved farms on the Gettysburg Battlefield with it's many outbuildings, is the John Slyder Farm. Situated about a quarter of a mile down the western slope of Big Round Top, panaoramic views of not only the Round Tops but an un-obstructed view of Devil's Den were just one of the great advantages of living here.

   Walk along Slyder Lane and you can stand in the fields of the neighboring Bushman Farm.

 There are many great outbuildings at the Slyder Farm, including a Blacksmith Shop and a carpentry shop.

 One of the great old traditions on  farms is the bell, which was used to call hands to dinner or gatherings, and even emergencies to summon or alert  the other farmers in the area.

There are two pumps on this farm, one is here beside the house. 

This is a great old pump, looks like it was used this morning for the cooking, washing and drinking. 

The barn is quite large, with massive double doors; one quite beautiful example of a Pennsylvania Barn.

As I said there are two pumps here on the Slyder Farm, this is the second one, just a short way from the main house.

A close up shows off this great old pump.

 If you are standing in the front yard of the house you can see Devil's Den, which I'm sure the occupants of this home stared at with disbelief when the guns from both armies started firing among the rocks and in the valley below.

The restoration on the Klingle Farm is continuing ;the work, however, is progressing ever so slowly. I've photographed this farm in it's better days last year, before the trees and buildings came down and here is what's going on now in the Fall of 2009.

The experts have taken a look at the interior structure of the building. It's an interesting combination of ingredients that made this house stand at the time of the Civil War and still stands now.

 Lathe and wood and bricks make up the elements that built one half of  the house. The other section is stone.

This is a home that is in distress at the moment, but the National Park Service will restore it to it's former self.

We must not loose sight of the fact that real live people lived in this home and over the decades it aged, but not very well.

As you meander your way to Culps Hill, you'll see quite a bit of devastation in the fields leading up to the Tower on Culp's Hill. From Spangler Spring take the left fork in the road and follow it around to where they are cutting the trees down near Pardee Field marker.

There is an open gap here that meets up with the tree shredders and machines further up on Williams Avenue. Below is the widest part of the gap at the time of this photo.