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A mix of clouds and sun. Near record high temperatures. High 92F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..
Partly cloudy skies. Low around 70F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.
Bob McIlhenny and Greg Kaufmann of the Historic Gettysburg-Adams County Preservation Society hold signs with Gettysburg Area High School students Logan Moseley, Elliot Walker and Cole Redding. (Submitted Photo)
Bob McIlhenny, Greg Kaufmann, and Bonnie Braun of the Historic Gettysburg-Adams County Preservation Society stand in front of the CNC machine with Gettysburg Area High School students Cole Redding, Logan Moseley, and Elliot Walker. (Submitted Photo)
Stan Licharowicz, Gettysburg Area High School technology education teacher, shows the app students are assisting in creating for Main Street Gettysburg’s Historic Pathways Brick Program. (Darryl Wheeler/Gettysburg Times)
Bob McIlhenny and Greg Kaufmann of the Historic Gettysburg-Adams County Preservation Society hold signs with Gettysburg Area High School students Logan Moseley, Elliot Walker and Cole Redding. (Submitted Photo)
Bob McIlhenny, Greg Kaufmann, and Bonnie Braun of the Historic Gettysburg-Adams County Preservation Society stand in front of the CNC machine with Gettysburg Area High School students Cole Redding, Logan Moseley, and Elliot Walker. (Submitted Photo)
Stan Licharowicz, Gettysburg Area High School technology education teacher, shows the app students are assisting in creating for Main Street Gettysburg’s Historic Pathways Brick Program. (Darryl Wheeler/Gettysburg Times)
Gettysburg Area High School (GAHS) students are making a difference in their community.
From restoring Civil War Hospital signs through the Historic Gettysburg-Adams County Preservation Society (HGAC) to creating an app for Main Street Gettysburg’s Historic Pathways Brick Program, manufacturing and engineering students have been gaining hands-on job experience in fields they are studying before they leave high school, according to Stan Licharowicz, GAHS technology education teacher.
“The students are getting a great educational experience, while these organizations are getting the work done they need,” Licharowicz said.
What started with a simple maintenance project when a blue Civil War Hospital sign outside the high school started to peel and fall apart turned into much more than that for students Logan Moseley, Elliot Walker and Cole Redding.
Moseley, a senior, said he never noticed the blue Civil War Hospital signs throughout the county.
“I have one right on the road I live on, and I never noticed it before,” Moseley said.
Throughout the experience, Moseley said the students have learned to work as a team to get the process together from tool pathing to texturing and spray painting.
“It has been a great experience working with the HGAC because it teaches us to communicate with people in a business environment,” Moseley said, noting he plans to study business in the future.
Bonnie Braun, HGAC vice president and chair of the Investing in Youth Initiative, said the organization dedicated to the preservation, restoration, and interpretation of the area’s architectural, cultural, and historical resources, undertook the project in 1983 to create and install signs on public and private property that marked structures used as hospitals during and after the Battle of Gettysburg.
While some signs were replaced in 2001, the organization began investigating the condition of existing signs and signposts after a resident approached HGAC with a request this year to get the Civil War Hospital sign on their property replaced, said Braun.
When seeking options to produce signs, they learned of GAHS’s Technology Student Association and had students create a prototype sign, which was approved by HGAC, Braun said.
“Working with the students on the sign project was another opportunity to increase appreciation of local heritage,” Braun said. “When three HGAC members met with the students and teacher to receive the first two signs, the students explained and demonstrated the process they used and showed us the CNC router in action carving another sign. Their ability to speak extemporarily and to explain concisely, while apparently at ease with us, were impressive.”
At the end of the school year, “students will have created the computerized path programs needed for electronically routing the words on an anticipated 35 signs,” Braun said, noting HGAC will receive six completed signs. The project will continue with new students in the fall, officials said.
Seven engineering students are also giving back by creating an app for Main Street Gettysburg’s Historic Pathways Brick Program, which will assist people in locating engraved bricks installed downtown, said Licharowicz. The students include Moseley, Ethan Wagner, Daniel Spangler, Aiden Bertram, Landon Stewart, Jose Chavarria-Chimalpopoca, and Sean Reinhard.
Licharowicz, who is teaching geographic information system (GIS) for the first time this year, reached out to the Penn State Extension Service to learn about possible projects for students and the app idea came up in conversation.
“It sounded like a great opportunity for students, so we started running with it,” Licharowicz said.
Jill Sellers, president and chief executive officer of Main Street Gettysburg, said she is excited students are learning firsthand through this GIS project, which follows one of the tenets of the Historic Pathways Brick Program, to “leave a legacy in historic Gettysburg.”
“This has been a tremendous opportunity to get our youth involved in our community and has also primed their thinking about volunteerism and public service,” Sellers said. “I love their understanding and reliance on technology in their lifestyle; this app is an extension of this program to future generations.”
The Historic Pathways Brick Program, a primary funding source for Main Street Gettysburg, offers people the opportunity to purchase an engraved brick for $175, which is a tax-deductible donation to the nonprofit organization, said Sellers, who noted 160 bricks on average are installed annually in November prior to Remembrance Day.
For nearly 30 years, Main Street Gettysburg has operated the Historic Pathways Brick Program with more than 7,500 engraved bricks installed in downtown Gettysburg, Sellers said, adding that some notable engraved names include Jesus Christ, Abraham Lincoln, U.S. Grant, Col. Joshua Chamberlain, and Martin Sheen.
“We maintain a spreadsheet of locations, but that approach is antiquated and inefficient these days. We are happy to help people over the phone or meet them downtown to show them where their brick is located, but too often we miss calls on evenings and weekends when people are visiting from out of town,” Sellers said. “The app would help them locate their brick at any time that they are visiting Gettysburg. It would also help to inform people that the program is still active and that they can buy a brick.”
Since the project is being done in conjunction with GAHS classes, most of the work is being conducted during classroom time, so the free app is anticipated to go live in the fall, said Sellers. A name has not been determined for the app, however students might be able to come up with it, she said.
Readers may contact Vanessa Sanders at vsanders@gettysburgtimes.com.
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