Patrons putting down $10.50 at the visitors center at the Gettysburg battlefield receive a cascading overview of the Civil War battle.
First, the emotion-tugging film “A New Birth of Freedom” rolls across a screen — covering the battle, the war and reasons for the conflict.
Then comes the loud drama of the “Gettysburg Cyclorama” that can cause patrons to leave in contemplative silence.
And then visitors are guided to The Gettysburg Museum of the Civil War that thoroughly explores the three days of fighting, plus a fourth day. On this last day, patrons receive an interpretation about how Gettysburg — and America — recovered from the battle and the war. Those leaving the center are well prepped to go forth to the battlefield.
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Then comes the evening and the relished stroll from Gettysburg’s square to the Sunset Ice Cream Parlor along Steinwehr. Here is where the edge of that grand Gettysburg experience is shaved off.
That walk is haunted with ghost tours.
Pedestrians must negotiate tour groups and dodge quiet barkers selling the walks.
A litany of signs tout ghosts in Gettysburg, haunted tours and, redundantly, haunted ghost tours.
Candlelight is the illumination of choice, as if wicks in wax create a universal beacon to call up those spirits.
After a long day of real history, enhanced understanding and thoughtful insight into the American experience, visitors are accosted by
this fake history.
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Now comes another invader threatening to trample this hallowed ground.
A posh resort is proposed just south of the battlefield — specifically the South Cavalry field — complete with casino.
Gettysburg bears a well-deserved brand as the high-water mark of the Civil War, a decisive moment in American history when the fate of our country — and the lives of millions of enslaved people — hung in the balance.
Now some interests are seeking to overlay this historic land with the atmosphere of a circus — a casino. And they are undermining that rich heritage with false history through ghost tours.
Even the Gettysburg Chamber of Commerce, friendly as many such organizations are to promises of an economic boost, could muster only mild support for the casino.
When members were asked whether the chamber should support the Mason Dixon Resort and Casino, 51.5 percent responded aye and 43.3 percent, no.
That’s hardly an endorsement, more like damnation with faint praise.
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When the tents of circuses like casinos and ghosts tours are put up next to sites where blood was shed, well, this brings to mind another Civil War moment.
Early in the war, blue and gray troops squared off outside Washington, D.C. at Manassas Junction.
Men in hats and women with parasols rode in carriages on an excursion to see what would transpire along the banks of Bull Run Creek. Perhaps they believed it would be a big croquet match.
What transpired was a bloodbath as the Confederates mauled Union troops, scattering them back to the D.C. defenses.
The finely dressed gentry became intertwined with the rout, as the Yankees, their new blue uniforms dirty and bloody, retreated in disarray to safety.
That moment had meaning, too. The war would be no afternoon Union picnic, but a four-year struggle.
Similarly, the Gettysburg battlefield district is no place to play games or to game.
And it’s no place to mock the memory of those who died by making up ghost stories.
Religious leaders from the Gettysburg region recently issued a clear statement opposing gambling for ethical and economic reasons and more.
“We recognize and honor the significant role that Gettysburg has in our nation’s history,” they stated. “We are concerned that a casino cheapens the memory and meaning of Gettysburg for those of us who live here as well as for the nation and the world.”
Well said.
Just substitute “ghost tours” for “casino” and the statement remains on the mark.
Tours in York
The York area plays host to heritage tours, too.
In fact, Gordon Freireich is leading a free downtown York tour today covering the various eras of York’s Jewish history. The tour begins at 1 p.m. at Market and Beaver streets. Advance registration is not necessary.
Downtown Inc., downtownyorkpa.com, is offering eight tours this year. The Civil War, prized architecture and the Colonial/Revolutionary War era are among the themes. I’ll join Lorann Jacobs in leading a tour of her statues.
And fortunately, only one ghost/haunted tour made Downtown Inc.’s list, but that house of cards promises to be propped up with stories of real history.
James McClure, editor of the York Daily Record/Sunday New, blogs daily at yorktownsquare.com. He has written five books on York County history. E-mail: jem@ydr.com.
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