The straight facts of a veteran’s life don’t always tell the whole story. On Memorial Day, I always think of my father, Gayle Smith, who was an ambulance driver during World War II. After the war Gayle followed his father’s footsteps as a college professor, teaching English at the University of Maryland when he wasn’t
Local residents gathered Sunday, April 27, at the Peace Light Memorial to protest staffing cuts at Gettysburg National Military Park (GNMP) and across the National Park Service (NPS). Organized by Gettysburg Rising, the demonstration highlighted the economic and cultural importance of national parks. According to organizers, park visitor spending at GNMP totaled $54.8 million in
In the United States of today, many of us suffer from the condition known as “moral injury.” First identified as something veterans suffer from, this condition is the trauma experienced by someone in the midst of a situation where what they are asked to be part of goes so much against their conscience that it
While the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention has closed, Pennsylvania’s efforts to reduce gun violence remain strong. The Pennsylvania Office of Gun Violence Prevention (OGVP), operating under the state’s Commission on Crime and Delinquency, continues to fund community-based programs that are showing real results. Since 2022, gun homicides in the state have dropped
At the request of Nancy Lilley, I agreed to be a “book” for this year’s Adams County Library “Living Library” program, and I want to recommend the experience. Thinking through what life lessons and experiences are best worth sharing in my twenty minutes has been uplifting for me. And whichever “book” you might be interested
A nationwide protest against National Park Service (NPS) job cuts reached Gettysburg National Military Park today, where retired NPS employee Brenda Barrett led 23 demonstrators in condemning recent layoffs that have impacted parks across the country. The Gettysburg protest was part of a larger movement organized by the Resistance Rangers, a group of roughly 700
Why the fuss about disbanding USAID and firing other federal employees, without notice or reason? The reason is not only fairness, but the fact that hard-working civil servants save taxpayers more than they cost. Employees of the US government are not widely appreciated for their work, in part because much of the work they do
In January, the Green Gettysburg Book Club and Gettysburg for Gun Sense will be studying some amazing works. As I delve into these reads, I am also fortunate to have received from Santa a copy of the prize-winning novel, “Orbital,” about watching Earth from the space station, by Samantha Harvey. The Green Gettysburg Book Club
I want to commend Lawrence and Anthony, hosts of the “Two Cool Dudes”podcast; Kathy Gaskin, who leads WellSpan’s Behavioral Health Task Force; and the Weary Performing Arts group, for an excellent program on mental wellness that they presented together at Gettysburg High School last night. All who braved the cold to attend were well rewarded!
During the summer David and I were blessed to be able to carry out a dream of ours. We traveled by train across the country, seeing Glacier National Park in Montana, Banff and Jasper Parks in Canada, and some of the cities along the way. We left in mid-June in order to reach Glacier National
I signed up in March for a class that resulted in an “Earthkeeper” certificate this month, one of many programs created for the now majority of Americans who are concerned about human damage to the Earth, which is also damaging animal and plant life on the planet. As climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe points out in
On November 3rd we will elect candidates who have the power to make us safer. While today’s public health focus centers on Covid-19 for good reason, in the long run gun violence is the greater threat to public health in the US. We have 4.4 percent of the global population in the US, but we
At noon on Thursday June 4th, 2020 Ceasefire PA hosted a digital rally. Every year at this time, gun violence prevention groups observe Wear Orange weekend, honoring the memory of Hadiya Pendleton and all gun violence victims, now amounting to 40,000 people who die annually. Fifteen-year-old Hadiya was a top student who was shot in