Gettysburg - Week 6: Maintenance
This week saw a change in pace from the last two weeks in
interpretation. This week had me in maintenance, where I was working behind the
scenes to keep Gettysburg pristine for visitors. My first day of maintenance
saw me working with the “fence crew,” a group of seasonal employees responsible
for repairing and replacing sections of wooden fence across the park. It was hard work under a hot sun as we replaced long sections of
post-rail fence on Benner’s Hill. Each post required me to dig a hole over two
feet deep, then place each post into the hole, and fill it back up again.
While it was rough working for hours only to see more yards of fence-line left to
finish, I felt that I made a valuable contribution to the park.
The other responsibility this week was helping repair some
of the monuments in the park. Monuments have been a part of Gettysburg battlefield
since the battle was fought and veterans, patriotic societies, and states
sought to memorialize the soldiers who fought here. These monuments range in
size, shape, and construction, including bronze statues and granite tablets.
Each one is unique and contributes valuable insight into the history of the
battle and the units that fought there. Furthermore, these monuments often
entail beautiful craftsmanship and are considered works of art on the
battlefield.
I had the honor of working on the State
of Vermont Monument and the 190th New York Monument. The State of
Vermont Monument is one of the tallest monuments at Gettysburg; standing over
fifty feet in the air, this granite pillar is capped with a huge bronze statue
of Vermont General George Stannard. I found out that I would be applying wax to
General Stannard’s statue…all the way at the top! I saddled up my courage and
hopped into the basket of a construction lift, rising fifty feet into
the air. It was a little disconcerting being in a tiny basket fifty feet above
the ground. It did not help that there was a strong breeze shaking the basket,
making it seem like I was riding a boat. Fortunately, I was in the capable
hands of Seasonal Employee Lucas Harmon, who specialized in monument preservation and
repair. He showed me a process known as “hot waxing,” whereby I would use a
blowtorch to scorch the old wax off of the bronze statue, before applying new
wax to the hot statue with a paint brush. This wax would help protect the
bronze from decay and add a shine to the statue. So, for the whole day, I was
working fifty feet in the air, in a swaying basket, juggling a hot blowtorch
and a paint brush, working on a giant bronze statue of a Civil War general. I
tried not to notice how high we were and together we managed to finish the statue in a
single day. I do not know what I enjoyed more, seeing the finished product up close
or checking it out with my feet back on the ground. Our work made such an
impression with bystanders that we got our picture taken by the local newspaper;
it made the front page of the Gettysburg Times, under “Stannard Gets a
Bath.”
The next day I worked on the 90th New York Monument, a smaller memorial only twenty feet off the ground. I worked with
Seasonal employee Tori Peterson to “point,” or replace mortar, in the lining
between stones. This mortar was composed of sand and lime, and when applied
correctly, helps secure the stones on the monument together. After mixing the
mortar, Tory and I rose up in yet another basket to carefully apply the mortar
into gaps between the granite blocks. It was an enjoyable process and several
people walking by stopped to comment on what we doing and how it made a difference
in appearance.
Overall, I had a great time learning more about how the park
functions behind the scenes. Supervisors Randy Hill and Lucas Flickinger did a
great job placing me in maintenance tasks around the park and everyone I worked
with really took their craft seriously. At the end of the week, I took great pride in
looking at the battlefield’s fences and monuments, knowing full well that I
helped preserve them for future generations.
Wow, your week in maintenance seems pretty cool. Its one thing to be in the public eye and its another to take care of the park from a distance. I havent gone to maintenance yet at my park but after reading this, im really looking forward to it. Keep up the good work buddy.
ReplyDeleteProRanger Daviryne Hall
The pictures didn't show it well, but from what I could see I have to assume a fool at some point had the green patina either chemically removed or sandblasted off this statue in some way (it didn't look green in the photo) in some misguided effort to "clean" the bronze and make it look new or something.
ReplyDeleteA similar thing happened in my state with a University that located some 19th century bronze Panthers that were once installed at a gate entrance nearby, but later removed, sold numerous time to various people and collectors, including being sold at auction houses, not one of them removed the green patina untill this University managed to locate them in another state, re-acquired them and then proceeded to have them cleaned and "sealed" with some kind of clear coat junk to "protect" them... Everyone in the know says NEVER remove a patina,you see this in art collectors, coin collectors etc, because it destroyes the appearance, damages the metal and is at best temporary.
Bronze is not steel, it doesn't decay away! the green patina PROTECTS the metal as long as it's left alone, but once some foolish pencil pusher at the top decides the statue needs a "cleaning" to remove the green patina, then it becomes an annual chore (and cost) to do what you guys are doing- burning off last year's wax with a blow torch and reapplying it again and again, what stupidity!