Behind the scenes: Gettysburg activities
The Eisenhower Institute is "nonpartisan, inspired by President Eisenhower’s approach of engaging diverse people and ideas to find common ground and take action."
Most people think of the Civil War, and only the Civil War, when they think of Gettysburg. And for good reason. The bloodiest battle in American history, with an estimated 50,000 casualties - killed, wounded, missing in action. Followed a few months later by President Lincoln’s memorable address, words which many of us know by heart.
National Park Service has done a magnificent job preserving this battlefield – living history, in a way. Days when I need to clear my head, regain perspective, I head for Culp’s Hill, or The Angle, or Seminary Ridge. Walking among the monuments, among the ghosts, can do wonders for stress.
When I need a reminder of how great the human capacity for sacrifice can be, for utter nobility for a cause greater than oneself, I drive to the Trostle farm. I contemplate how a small band of United States soldiers willingly gave their lives as decoys, buying time for the Union Army to retreat to Cemetery Hill and prepare for the next day’s decisive battle.
Most of the men of the 9th Massachusetts (Bigelow’s) Battery who diverted Confederate troops died on that field. It was a horrific scene, but their deaths did much to preserve the Union.
Or, I walk the fields around Abraham Brian’s house, thinking about the grave injustices we Americans imposed on our Black citizens after the Civil War. Abraham Brian was a freed slave who fought for the United States Army. His Gettysburg home was destroyed during the campaign. The pittance the U.S. government reimbursed him for property loss was insulting.
Adams County Historical Society preserves the cost of the Gettysburg campaign to the civilian population with its Beyond the Battle Museum. And the Gettysburg Film Festival brings Ken Burns and other luminaries to town, giving them a forum to further research those painful three days in American history.
But – Gettysburg is about far more than the Civil War. Not yet a borough, Gettysburg, New Oxford, and Hunterstown formed the western frontier of the colonies during the American Revolution. Adams County Historical Society occasionally holds special events related to what would become Adams County, as it was in the 18th and early 19th centuries. My home is situated on one of those roads that connected Philadelphia to York and towns further west (e.g., Biglerville and Carlisle). George Washington is said to have ridden his horse down the dirt road in front of my house – and the first owners of my property already lived here when he did.
And it’s even more than Revolutionary War and Civil War. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, as a West Point cadet, visited Gettysburg in 1915. Three years later, he was Commander of Camp Colt, a tank training center located on the fields now known for Pickett’s charge.
When World War II ended, his wife Mamie insisted they finally have a place of their own. The Eisenhowers purchased a modest farm right outside Gettysburg and the battlefield. Their home served as his White House adjunct as he recovered from a heart attack while president. Fun trivia fact: Eisenhower was the first president to use the Marine One helicopter and therefore the first president to have a helipad on his property.
After Eisenhower completed his second term as president, he worked out of an office at Gettysburg College. For eight years, he wrote his memoirs and stayed politically active, all out of an unpretentious office on campus.
Neither Dwight nor Mamie put on airs or lived extravagantly, although they could have. Shortly before Dwight Eisenhower’s death, they donated their home and farmland to the National Park Service. Mamie continued to live on that farm for another ten years.
My two favorite Mamie stories, as related by the National Park Service rangers:
The Eisenhowers kept a formal living room that was used to entertain foreign dignitaries. Gifts (properly processed) from heads of state were displayed in that room.
But Mamie hated that room. They “lived” in a den area facing their garden and Ike’s putting green. And Mamie’s true treasures were prominently displayed in a trophy case at the front door, for all those dignitaries to see. Her true treasures? The plastic figurines she collected from laundry detergent boxes.
The second is sweet, the sort of decency and sweetness I think many of us long for in our politicians.
When Ike died, Mamie had a hard time falling asleep without him. She therefore purchased long body pillows and slept against them. But even that didn’t fully do the trick. So she stashed chocolates under the body pillow and would sneak a few to help her sleep. (Oh, and Mamie was not a morning person. She usually slept in until noon.)
As is everything run by the National Park Service in Gettysburg – the battlefield and the David Wills home – the Eisenhower farm is free. NPS staff clearly love their jobs. My first time at the Eisenhower farm, I sat in a rocking chair on the front porch of the tiny guest house. It was well past closing time. An NPS ranger approached me. Thinking I had to leave, I apologized. “No, no,” he said. “This home belongs to the people. Even when the house is closed, feel free to come sit in the rocking chair as often as you wish.”
Gettysburg College now has the Eisenhower Institute. Its mission statement:
The Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College connects aspiring young leaders with public policy experts to discover their passion and tackle society’s most challenging issues. We are nonpartisan, inspired by President Eisenhower’s approach of engaging diverse people and ideas to find common ground and take action.
That institute’s presence in Gettysburg sparked the opening of another museum – in fact, it opened the same month I moved to Gettysburg! – namely, the World War II American Experience. Its founders, Frank and Loni Buck, collected American World War II memorabilia for years. Stories around town say that the Bucks stored tanks, jeeps, and everything else in barns on their property. So many people wanted to see their collection, that Frank Buck used his own money to establish a phenomenally good museum.
Hands on. Touch the uniforms and trucks. Watch them drive a Sherman tank. If you’re lucky, you get to ride along inside the tank. Really.
Their Web site points out that Gettysburg has connections beyond General Dwight D. Eisenhower. During World War II, Gettysburg was also (quoting the museum):
The site of the Navy secret map-making office.
A top secret psychological warfare training camp — Camp Sharpe’s “Psycho Boys.”
A German POW camp established on the Gettysburg National Military Park to provide needed labor for the growing, harvesting and processing of the well-established local fruit and vegetable industry.
Nearly 500 WWII veterans are interred in the National Cemetery in Gettysburg, yes, the same one dedicated by President Lincoln in November 1863.
The next few weeks, there are multiple events scheduled around The Eisenhower Institute, Gettysburg College, and the World War II American Experience, as well as events sponsored by Adams County Historical Society, German-American Chamber of Commerce in Philadelphia, and the Gettysburg Adams County Chamber of Commerce. All directly impact our work.
When scheduling posts and podcasts for Why This Matters, along with the events for which we’re registered, it became a bit overwhelming to consider. I couldn’t make everything work with the calendar, at least if I also wanted to sleep now and again.
I’ve therefore – regretfully – opted to temporarily pause the podcasts (serialized audiobook) to focus my attention on things that have long-term impact for Center for White Rose Studies. I hate doing this, because the percentage of subscribers and followers who read or listen to the audiobook segments is quite high. Please be patient. It’s just that the audiobook segments take much longer than posts.
Stay tuned. In addition to finishing the posts about White Rose families, I’ll also report back on these seminars and special events.
Who knows? I may even (gulp) take a spin on the dance floor during the 1940s dance, along with “Generation Big Band.”
On second thought, nah. But I’ll have fun watching the dancers! And chatting with new friends.
Look for pictures!
© 2024 Denise Elaine Heap. Please contact us for permission to quote. To order digital version of White Rose History, Volume II, click here. Digital version of White Rose History, Volume I is available here.
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