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MAIN STREET GETTYSBURG
Main Street Gettysburg Kicks Off
"The Finishing Touch" Partnership
Main Street Gettysburg is partnering with Gettysburg Schools and
the Times and News Publishing Company to create an outreach program
for all Gettysburg area school students, raising public awareness
of the David Wills House.
"Anywhere you go in the world there is an
appreciation for what occurred here in Gettysburg. It is our responsibility
to have every student that graduates from Gettysburg, feel a special
connection to this town and take with them the pride and knowledge
of our history to share with others," said Dr. Bill Hall
Superintendent of the Gettysburg Area School District, and co-chair
of the campaign.
"We are reviewing the curriculum from K through 12th grade,
and developing creative ways to help our students learn and embrace
the rich history that surrounds them in their daily lives and
will help them be successful in their future," said Dr. Hall.
The campaign will involve students in educational
projects, students creating artwork that will be sold at auction,
and construction of a large scale model of the David Wills House.
"More than anything else we want to create
a sense of ownership in each one of these students about this
incredible treasure right here in Gettysburg," said committee
co-chair Pete Ricker, of Adams County National Bank.
Finishing Touch committee members include Tom
Ford, of the Times and News Publishing Company, and Bill Kough,
Chair of Main Street Gettysburg's Board of Directors.
"We're calling it the Finishing Touch because
Lincoln put the finishing touch on the Gettysburg Address inside
the Wills House and this project will put the finishing touch
on the outside of the historic Wills House," said Tom Ford.
The partnership will raise $52,000 for the final
detailed paintwork on the exterior of the historic structure,
which is on the National Register. The red painted bricks on the
outside of the Wills home were outlined by a stencil of white
paint, highlighting each of the mortar joints.
Through corporate outreach, private donors, and
student fundraising efforts, the committee will raise all the
funds needed to complete this historic paint detail by the time
the building opens in the fall. Additional funds raised will go
toward a Finishing Touch scholarship project for students.
Opening February 12-16, 2009 as part of Gettysburg
National Military Park, the David Wills House in downtown Gettysburg
tells the story of a town recovering from the devastation of battle,
and a war-worn President who came to dedicate a national cemetery.
David Wills' home was the center of the immense clean-up process
after the Battle of Gettysburg. In a second-floor bedroom, President
Abraham Lincoln put the finishing touches on the Gettysburg Address
- the speech transformed Gettysburg from a place of sorrow to
the symbol of our nation's new birth of freedom.
The museum includes seven galleries, including
the restored office where David Wills coordinated post-battle
recovery efforts and invited the President to deliver "a
few appropriate remarks," and the famous Lincoln bedroom
where the President finished revising the Gettysburg Address.
Main Street Gettysburg will operate the museum
in cooperation with the National Park Service. The David Wills
House Grand Opening is an official event of the Abraham Lincoln
Bicentennial Commission. More than 150,000 visitors a year are
expected to visit the site, which is on the National Register
of Historic Places.
Main Street Gettysburg is a nonprofit organization
dedicated to historic preservation and economic revitalization
of Gettysburg for the benefit of its citizens, businesses, and
visitors. Main Street Gettysburg is partnering, leading, and investing
in Gettysburg's future.
Main Street Gettysburg's Board of Directors includes
key partners from the Borough of Gettysburg, National Park Service,
Gettysburg College, Lincoln Cemetery Project Association, Lutheran
Theological Seminary, Adams County Historical Society, Gettysburg
Adams Chamber of Commerce, Gettysburg Area Retail Merchants Association,
Gettysburg Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Adams County Commissioners,
Adams County Economic Development Corporation, and the Gettysburg
Foundation.
To contribute to the Finishing Touch, send a
tax-deductible contribution to Main Street Gettysburg. For more
information, contact Main Street Gettysburg at 717/ 337-3491.
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Site funded in part by the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum
Commission. Photography by Bill Dowling. Main
Street Gettysburg, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)(3)
organization registered with the state of Pennsylvania,
is committed to preserving and revitalizing historic Gettysburg
for the benefit of businesses, citizens, and visitors. Our
address is 571 W. Middle Street Gettysburg, PA 17325; 717 337 3491;
email Main
Street Gettysburg. |
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