The Gettysburg Quarterly

Economic Stimulus Funds Benefit Gettysburg

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is funding four major 

projects at Gettysburg National Military 

Park. The Recovery Act is helping create 

jobs and generating economic activity in 

the Gettysburg area and accomplishing 

projects of lasting value – for the American people and the preservation of the 

Gettysburg battlefield.

In November, the park completed its first 

Recovery Act project which replaced 

the waterline that serves the McMillan 

Woods Youth Campground along West 

Confederate Avenue. The project’s cost 

was $281,247 and Classic Site Solutions 

of Springfield, Massachusetts, was the 

general contractor. This was one of the 

first Recovery Act projects contracted, 

underway, and completed in the National 

Park Service Northeast Region.

The Recovery Act is providing $344,880 

for a major rehabilitation of the historic 

Klingel house on the battlefield. Archeology is underway now and a historic 

structures report is being prepared to 

guide the park during the rehabilitation 

project. The Klingel house’s location on 

the Emmitsburg Road Ridge north of the 

Peach Orchard placed it in contested territory during the battle of Gettysburg. 

On July 2, men of Carr’s Union brigade 

fortified themselves within the house 

during Confederate attacks, knocking 

out the chinking in the exposed log walls 

in order to fire against enemy infantry. 

On July 3, the building was used to shield 

and screen Confederate artillery in the 

field just west of the house preparatory 

to and during the cannonade prior to the 

Pickett-Pettigrew Charge. 

The Baltimore Street restrooms at the 

Soldiers’ National Cemetery will be 

renovated through Recovery Act funding and ten boilers in historic structures 

on the battlefield will be replaced with 

newer, more energy-efficient models. 

The energy-efficient boilers will improve 

environmental sustainability in the park 

and set an example for how visitors can 

adopt these “best practices” at home. 

The park is preparing to release bids for 

the cemetery restrooms and boiler replacement projects in the spring of 2010. 

The park’s projects are part of a $750 

million investment in the National Park 

Service and a $3 billion total investment 

in all Department of the Interior agencies. All the projects are long-standing 

priorities of the National Park Service 

and meet the criteria put forth in the 

Recovery Act – that a project address the 

Department’s highest priority missionbased needs; generate the largest number 

of jobs in the shortest period of time; 

and create lasting value for the American 

public.

“Thanks to Recovery Act funding, Gettysburg’s visitors will have access to 

improved facilities, and improved preservation of historic houses,” said J. Mel 

Poole, Interim Superintendent at Gettysburg NMP. 

National parks and their visitors generate 

$11 billion annually in economic benefits 

nationwide. 

 The Klingel House, along Emmitsburg Road, will benefit from Recovery Act funds.

The official newsletter of Gettysburg National Military Park · Winter/Spring 2010 · Vol. 17, No. 1

Park News National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior
NPS Northeast Regional Director 

Dennis R. Reidenbach named Mel 

Poole (pictured above) interim 

superintendent of Gettysburg 

NMP in November. Poole, 

who is currently superintendent 

of Catoctin Mountain Park in 

Thurmont, Maryland, assumed his 

duties on November 23, 2009. 

He is a graduate of Virginia Tech in 

landscape horticulture and has also 

completed post-graduate studies in 

environmental planning at Tech.

Previous NPS assignments include 

Acting Superintendent, George 

Washington Memorial Parkway, 

(VA-MD), White House Liaison 

(DC), National Capital ParksEast (eastern DC and southern 

MD), National Capital Regional 

Office (DC, MD, VA, WV) and 

President’s Park(DC), where he 

directed the opening of the White 

House Visitor Center. 

Reidenbach also named Gettysburg 

Chief Ranger Brion FitzGerald as 

acting deputy superintendent. 

The selection of the new park 

superintendent is expected in early 

2010.

The Lincoln Train Station 

Acquisition of the historic Gettysburg 

Train Station is still pending. Congressman Todd Platts has introduced legislation to add the property to the park 

boundary. Discussions are continuing 

with the CSX Corporation, which owns 

all the land between the railroad track 

and the edge of the station. 

David Wills House 

Main Street Gettysburg is doing an excellent job of operating the David Wills 

House, under a Memorandum of Understanding with the park. They welcomed 

more than 33,000 visitors in 2008. Main 

Street’s first year of operations of the 

museum was financially successful and 

numerous special events and programs 

are planned for the museum for 2010. In 

November, a newly restored portrait of 

David Wills’ father was hung over the 

fireplace in the law office and other missing historic details filled in, such as books 

and curtains, to give the law office and 

Lincoln bedroom a “lived in” look. To 

learn more go to www.davidwillshouse.

org.

Freedom Transit 

Adams County Transit Authority is just 

completing its first six months of operations for “Freedom Transit,” a new 

shuttle service that started in July 2009 

connecting the park and the town of Gettysburg. To date, ridership has been low, 

but we have three years to work together 

to build up patronage in order to continue to qualify for Pennsylvania Rural 

Transit subsidy funds. Next time you’re 

visiting Gettysburg, consider using the 

Freedom Transit shuttle. For more information go to www.ridethetrolley.com.

Directional Signs 

New wayfinding signs for downtown 

Gettysburg are in the final stages of approval at PennDOT. The Borough of 

Gettysburg will be installing the signs as 

soon as the review is complete and they 

are fabricated. Our hope is that by next 

spring the visitor experience in the town 

of Gettysburg will be improved by the 

new systems of signs for both vehicles 

and pedestrians. 

Updates on Gettysburg 

Community Initiatives

2 The Gettysburg Quarterly

Mel Poole, 

Interim 

Superintendent 
Gettysburg National Military Park and 

the Gettysburg Foundation are producing an educational broadcast, entitled 

“Big Deal at Gettysburg: The Value 

of Historical Places,” to be shown on 

February 12, 2010 – Abraham Lincoln’s 

birthday. 

The broadcast will follow the story of 

business executive Elizabeth Grayburn as 

she visits Gettysburg to finalize a valuable 

land development deal. Will she succeed 

in securing key Gettysburg properties 

for her firm and earning a promotion, or 

will she leave Gettysburg understanding that historic value sometimes trumps 

property value? Students will follow 

her journey with her teenage son from 

the historic Spangler farm, to the David 

Wills House, to the Soldiers’ National 

Cemetery as she rediscovers a battle and 

a speech that shaped a nation.

The broadcast has an expected audience 

of 10 million school children nationwide 

and is the latest in a series that has been 

awarded two Tellys for excellence in children’s television programming. 

This year’s broadcast is made possible 

through a generous gift to the GettysEducational Broadcast Launching February 12

“Big Deal at Gettysburg: The Value of Historical Places”

Gettysburg Foundation Names New 

President

The Gettysburg Foundation welcomed Rear Adm. Richard A. Buchanan USN (ret.) as president in October. 

Buchanan previously served as president and CEO of the United States Navy Memorial Foundation in 

Washington, D.C. Before that, he was vice president of naval systems at Raytheon Integrated Defense 

Systems and has also worked at Electronic Data Systems as the deputy for strategic operations on the 

Navy Marine Corps Intranet Program. Following his retirement from military duty, Buchanan was the vice 

president of corporate services for First National Bank of Omaha and the president of the Midlands Venture Forum in Nebraska and Iowa.

“Rear Adm. Buchanan’s experience in the military, in finance, and with nonprofit organizations represents 

the perfect leadership mix for the Gettysburg Foundation,” said Foundation Chairman Robert A. Kinsley. 

“His skill set is a perfect complement to our unique and important partnership with the National Park 

Service.”

 “I am honored to be part of the Gettysburg Foundation’s partnership with the National Park Service. The 

mere mention of the word ‘Gettysburg’ strikes a chord with people all over the world, and our mission 

here is so important to Gettysburg’s ongoing message and preservation,” said Buchanan. “As a veteran 

of our armed forces, it is an amazing experience to work in a place that has such military and historic 

significance to our nation and that reflects the bravery and sacrifice of so many as they fought for their 

beliefs and for our country.”

Buchanan succeeded Robert C. Wilburn, who retired from the Foundation this summer. For more information about the Gettysburg Foundation go to www.gettysburgfoundation.org.

The Gettysburg Quarterly 3

Gettysburg National Military Park, established 

in 1895, is the site of the great Civil War 

battle that repulsed the second Confederate 

invasion of the North. The mission of the National Park Service at Gettysburg is to preserve 

and protect the resources associated with the 

battle of Gettysburg and the Soldiers’ National Cemetery and provide an understanding 

of the events that occurred there within the 

context of American history. 

Gettysburg National Military Park

1195 Baltimore Pike, Suite 100

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 17325

Phone

(717) 334-1124 

E-mail

gett_superintendent@nps.gov

The National Park Service cares for the 

special places saved by the American people 

so that all may experience our heritage.

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

burg Foundation from Bob and Marion 

Wilson and the Winnick Family Foundation, and is a program of the Ford Motor 

Company Fund Education Center.

For information about viewing the educational broadcast in schools go to the 

website www.gettysburgfoundation.org 

and register.
4 The Gettysburg Quarterly

Gettysburg Offers Special Winter Lecture Series - 

“Gettysburg:Perspectives on the Battle and Campaign”

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Gettysburg National Military Park

1195 Baltimore Pike, Ste. 100

Gettysburg, PA 17325

Weapons of the battle, Lee’s retreat and 

Meade’s pursuit from Gettysburg, and the 

experience of battle on July 2 are among 

the topics of the 2010 National Park Service 

series of free winter lectures, “Gettysburg: 

Perspectives on the Battle and Campaign” 

at Gettysburg National Military Park. 

National Park Rangers will offer the programs on weekends beginning Sunday, 

January 10 and running through Sunday, 

February 28. They are free of charge and 

will be held at the new Gettysburg National 

Military Park Museum and Visitor Center, in 

the Ford Motor Company Fund Education 

Center. Programs begin at 1:30 p.m. and 

last approximately one hour. 

JANUARY 10 - COLONEL SHARPE AND THE 

BUREAU OF MILITARY INFORMATION – 

Angie Atkinson

JANUARY 16 - THINKING BIGGER – Gettysburg in 

Space and Time - Troy Harman

JANUARY 23 - CIVIL WAR MALADIES – The Cases 

of Robert E. Lee, A. P. Hill and Richard Ewell - 

Matt Atkinson

JANUARY 24 - E. P. ALEXANDER AND RESOLVING 

CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS OF THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG - Karlton Smith

JANUARY 30 - THE WEAPONS OF GETTYSBURG – 

Tom Holbrook

FEBRUARY 6 - THE VETERANS AND THE BATTLEFIELD: How Veterans Shaped the Gettysburg Battlefield Park- John Heiser

FEBRUARY 7 - “TO JUDGE AND ACT FOR MYSELF”

– The Experiences of Colonel Charles Wainwright, 

Soldier & Democrat – Bert Barnett

FEBRUARY 13 - “UNWILLING WITNESS TO THE 

RAGE OF GETTYSBURG” – The Experience of Battle 

on July 2 – D. Scott Hartwig

FEBRUARY 14 - THE FEDERAL FIGHT WHEN IT 

WASN’T – The 24 Hours Between July 1 Collapse 

and July 2 Battle - Chuck Teague

FEBRUARY 20 - LEE’S RETREAT AND MEADE’S 

PURSUIT - Troy Harman

FEBRUARY 21 - GETTYSBURG, THE TURNING POINT 

. . . BUT NOT AS YOU THINK – Bill Hewitt 

FEBRUARY 27 - “MORE MAY HAVE BEEN REQUIRED OF THEM THAN THEY WERE ABLE TO 

PERFORM” – Pickett’s Charge – Matt Atkinson

FEBRUARY 28 - PETTIGREW AND TRIMBLE: New 

Insights Into the Other Half of Pickett’s Charge – 

Karlton Smith

E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C ATM