With the new year underway, I want to let our community know how grateful the Gettysburg Foundation is for our Gettysburg and Adams County neighbors. I am continuing to share with readers ways we are reaching out to the community and becoming more involved with initiatives for our area residents.
I am pleased to announce the Foundation received 100,000 medical-grade masks from Ford Motor Company Fund that we will distribute to various local charities, schools, and those in need. We are partnering with Gettysburg Foursquare Church to distribute the masks. Although the logistics are being finalized, we are pleased to help residents stay safe with proper face coverings during the pandemic. We appreciate Gettysburg Foursquare Church partnering with us to accomplish this service. Details are forthcoming for distribution later this winter.
As readers may know, Gettysburg is a high-priority travel destination on individual bucket lists all over the world. Gettysburg and Adams County residents are fortunate to have history available to us in our own “back yard.” Winter is a wonderful time to visit our Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center and visit the iconic landmarks on the battlefield. The battlefield vistas provide a much clearer view with the leaves off the trees for a unique perspective of troop positions and movements in July 1863. Winter also provides a more relaxed time with fewer crowds to enjoy the Museum & Visitor Center attractions and is a great season for exploring our Gettysburg Museum of the American Civil War at a more leisurely pace without navigating the crowds.
When I moved to Gettysburg in 2015, I met some residents who told me they had never visited the “new” Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center that opened in 2008. There were others who said they had never been on the battlefield, other than driving the cross-battlefield roads.
I would like to encourage all Adams County residents to take advantage of a unique opportunity this winter to visit and enjoy everything our LEED-Gold Certified venue has to offer. Each Thursday in February, admission to the Film, Cyclorama & Museum Experience will be free to all Adams County residents. Simply present proof of residency to receive complimentary admission to the must-see experience.
It is our hope to encourage individuals all over Adams County to rediscover what Gettysburg National Military Park has to offer. Perhaps it has been a while since you visited the museum. Perhaps you have never experienced the illusion of the restored Gettysburg Cyclorama painting or listened to Morgan Freeman narrate our film presentation of A New Birth of Freedom. Maybe you never took the time to consider the artistry and beauty of the 1,300 battlefield monuments and memorials. Whatever the reason, I hope all Adams County residents consider being our guest at the Museum & Visitor Center, located at 1195 Baltimore Pike. You can then go prepared out onto the battlefield to take in the sites for a different view than you may have ever noticed before. Your visit will be “on us” and I hope you have an enjoyable and moving experience “in your own back yard.”
I encourage you to rediscover Gettysburg history. We look forward to welcoming you on Thursdays in February 2021.
David Malgee, Interim President, Gettysburg Foundation.
First appeared in the Gettysburg Foundation's column in the Jan. 27, 2021, edition of the Gettysburg Times.