Local ACW events: April 2008 Archives

Crowds thronged the Toy Soldier Show in Gettysburg, offering promise that this event will become a fixture in the area for years to come.

I spent a pleasant few hours Sunday afternoon at the 1st Annual Toy Soldier Show in Gettysburg, a new event held at the Gettysburg Hotel on the square. Attendance was very strong, spurred in part by the novelty of the event, as well as some very cool door prizes from Britains and several hourly drawings for gift certificates to the dealer hall. I saw a lot of old friends and had a blast going down memory lane as I looked through box after box of old toy soldiers, army men, cowboys and indians, Vikings, space men, and many other genres of plastic figures from all sorts of makers.

I was invited to speak to the 7th and 8th grade students at York Catholic's annual Civil War Reenactment Weekend, which has been a staple for more than a decade and a half. Students study history in a very creative way - becoming Civil War reenactors for a weekend. Trained and taught by living historians and adult reenactors (some of whom are school teachers themselves from other districts), the students are immersed for two days into a small glimpse of what military life in the 1860s may have been like. It's a very effective teaching method, one that surely brings more interest than the average lecture from a teacher reciting boring dates, people, and events. Bringing history to life in this creative fashion most certainly is a better way to educate, and I commend the good folks at York Catholic for supporting and sustaining this methodology for so long.

The 102nd Pennsylvania was among the Union reinforcements that helped clear the "Valley of Death" late on July 2.

The York Civil War Round Table is sponsoring a National Park Service-sanctioned battlefield clean-up activity on Saturday morning, May 3, 2008. To further entice folks to turn out, in the early afternoon, there will be a free battle walk and tour of East Cemetery Hill led by Scott Mingus, who has written a new book covering the topic. There is no charge for either activity, and the public is welcome to participate, although a free-will donation is suggested to the York CWRT to help defray expenses for the speakers at future monthly meetings. Volunteers for the Adopt-a-Position work day need to bring gloves and clippers.

Meet at 10 a.m. at the monuments to the 102nd Pennsylvania / 62nd New York on the John Weikert / Althoff Farm Lane, just northeast of the Wheatfield Road intersection with Crawford Avenue (near Houck's Ridge / Devil's Den). Lunch is on your own. Then, at 1:00 p.m., meet at the Evergreen Cemetery Gatehouse for the 90-minute battle walk, which will involve only modest walking.

Wargamer and Gettysburg buff Billy Ray Wagenseller greets author Scott L. Mingus, Sr. at the 4/19/08 book signing during the History Meets the Arts spring festival. Photo by Curt Daniels taken at the Gettysburg Gift Center.

Gettysburg annually holds a spring festival known as History Meets the Arts, a celebration of historical art, music, literary accomplishments, and other arts. Artists such as Dale Gallon, John Paul Strain, Keith Rocco, and many others were present yesterday, and attendance throughout the town was exceptional. The combination of glorious weather, some big-name artists, the first weekend for the new Visitors Center, and good advertising helped boost attendance versus last year’s wind-blown freeze-fest.

Maryland author Bradley Gottfried and I signed books together in the afternoon. He is quite a gentleman and a very nice guy, not to mention an extremely talented cartographer and writer. His latest book is entitled The Artillery of Gettysburg, and seemed to be selling well, along with his other titles such as The Maps of Gettysburg. I sold quite of few of my three books, and thoroughly enjoyed the conversations with Brad and with many of my friends who stopped by. Brad also agreed to come speak to the York CWRT sometime in 2009; more details to come when next year's schedule comes out.

HMTA continues today in Gettysburg. A French & Indian War reeenactor camp site replete with a small fort are highlights of the main display at the Fire Hall, as well as the impressive array of original painting by a host of talented F&I artists. There is no admission charge for this annual event.

This Friday through Sunday marks the annual History Meets the Arts spring festival and celebration in downtown Gettysburg, PA. Many artists who specialize in historical paintings, prints, photographs, and sculptors will be on hand to sell their goods, to answer questions, sign art prints, and/or discuss their craft. A few authors will also be present to sign their books. I will be signing copies of my three most recent books at the Gettysburg Gift Center (the Wax Museum on Steinwehr Avenue).

Among the artists scheduled to be present are Dale Gallon, John Paul Strain, Bradley Schmehl, and Keith Rocco. Authors include J. David Petruzzi (who will be the featured speaker at the May 21 meeting of the York CWRT), George Newton, and Bradley Gottfried, whose new Maps of Gettysburg book is selling quite well.

See you there?