The Real History Lesson

Over the last 3 weeks I have known that this trip was upon me.  I got a book from the library called Gettysburg and it was written by Newt Gingrinch and William Forstchen.  The book starts on July 1st early in the morning, the first day of three of the Battle of Gettysburg, and chronicles the thoughts of the Generals leading both the Union and Confederate Armies, it explains strategy and positioning, it gives a bit of background information and lead up.  But what it does terrifically is explain in graphic detail the fighting and the injuries, hand to hand combat, the way people were taken prisoner, they way horse teams of 6 pulled artillery and limbers - despite even if a horse had its leg blown off....  The way the bullets zipped across the field ripping into legs and skulls.  The gruesome sounds in the field hospitals.  So even though I am not a history buff with this content, I was well enough aware of what was in store for the day's tour.

The southern Confederate army had entered Gettysburg and secured its position north of town, whereas the northern Union army had entered Gettysburg from the south of town.  The town has about 10 entrances/exits to it in all of the cardinal directions.  Positioning was key.  It was really important where to fight geographically to gain the upper hand.  Culp's Hill, Cemetery Ridge, Seminary Ridge, Baltimore Pike, Rock Creek, Steven's Knoll, and so on - These were all many landmark locations in an area about 5 square miles were bloody battles took place.  Each spot had a significance of one way or another for both sides, but finally on July 3rd the battle end with the infamous Pickett's Charge.  General Pickett, in his first ever combat role, marched 13,000 Confederates soldiers about 1 mile across an open field straight into Union fire.  In the end over 6,000 of these men were killed, and the charge was futile.

The tour guide kept a steady narration for 2 hours on the bus.  We started driving down the main street and he identified several houses that were still being used that were around in 1863.  Many of the houses served as hospitals were the injured and shot were taken to recover or have an amputation.  Many of these hospitals/houses served both Confederates and Unionist.  To this day there are still many blood stains, bullet holes, and even canon balls that are visible.  As the tour went on the guide, Dave, pointed out many other places of historical significance; farms that were used as headquarters for generals, roads that had 55 miles worth of soldiers marching on it, and trees, streams and creeks that still provide shade and water as they did 155 years ago.  He knew his stuff.

There is quite the effort to restore the battle grounds to as much as their original condition based on pictures and text.  So orchards have been replanted, fences rebuilt, houses and barns fixed, and modern buildings such as a car dealership had to be moved.  The battle field has enormous monuments (1,320) and statues commemorating brigades, companies, and division who fought in the battle.  As far away north as Maine was represented, as well as as far south as Texas.  There were hundreds and hundreds of them or different shapes and sizes.  The largest monument by far was the Pennsylvania monument which has the names of over 30,000 troops.  150,000 soldiers actually fought in all on both sides, there was over 7 million bullets shot, and 52,000 were killed, injured or captured during this 3 day battle.

There is simple too many facts and interesting points to mention.  I think amazingly the single greatest accomplishment was only 1 civilian death during the battle.  A young girl was inadvertently shot in the back by an errant bullet and was killed.  There were 2500 citizens in Gettysburg around this time and many hid in their basements and cellars over the 3 days.  That seems like an accomplishment.  But the sad fact was the needless war took its toll on the entire nation.  The battles were horrific and more people died from infectious disease then by bullets.  It would only last another year and one half or so before the Confederates conceded defeat.  There were many battles, but none as significant as Gettysburg.

During the tour there were a number of people reenacting canon fire, and a number of people were camped out and marching and shooting muskets.  It happens 365 days a year probably, but every July 4th there is an enourmous set of events marking the end of the battle with quite the display of reenacting.  Gettysburg gets over 1 million visitors a year usually.

Twisting and Winding

Undoubtedly the best 500 km stretch of motorcycling happened on Saturday morning.  The less then trusty KTM 990 fired right up like it was ready to get in a fight.  The air was cool and crisp, no clouds and sunny skies.  It was my obligation to get us to Gettysburg.  The direct way was 420 km of interstate, versus about 500 km of county roads.  We opted for the latter, and had the GPS unit set to our points along the way.

From Portageville, NY we crossed into Pennsylvania within an easy hour of driving.  In Pennsylvania we took a zig-zagged route through sleepy communities called Galeton, Wharton, Phillipsburg, Huntington, Fort Loudon, and over to Gettysburg.  I can assure you this was some of the finest riding my 70K bike has ever taken.  The roads were not busy, the weather was great, the views were amazing, and they were twisting and winding continuously.  The bike was working and starting just fine, and we took these roads that go south and east, south and east.  It was another long day, but much better then yesterday.  By 3:00 we rounded into Gettysburg.

About 3 miles outside of Gettysburg the feel changes.  First there becomes a huge increase in traffic.  You arrive to these huge vast fields with knee high grass with fencing.  Signs start to pop up with directions to the National Cemetery, National Park, Visitor's Centre, and so on.  All of the sudden there are more tourist buses.  When you drive into town there is a lot of foot traffic on the sidewalk with people walking into and out of the stores.  There are placard signs every 100 ft with text and pictures mentioning a historical significance of one kind or another.  It is a long downtown stretch and our hotel was toward the opposite end of how we arrived.  It was appropriately named the 1863 Gettysburg Inn.

The shoppes and consumables were heavily geared towards civil war paraphernalia.  There must have been 10 shops selling t-shirts, magnets, ash trays, coffee cups, coffee table books, DVDs and every other 2019 kind of trinket.  But the other half of the shops catered to selling things from the 1860s; pistols, swords, lots of period clothing and cookware, different coins and stamps, antiques and things of that nature.  There were also a lot of candy and confectionery outlets to buy stuff from.  There were a few stores that also have dusk ghost-walking tours through the cemetery and battlefield areas.  With 52,000 people killed during 3 days, and over 5,000 horses killed as well, undoubtedly there must be some spirits to be roused up.  But the point is it was very busy, and there was a lot to see and look at.  The downtown even had a bit of a round-about that reminded me of the square in Goderich.

Darin and I stayed right in this downtown core and thus we walked up and down the main street a few times.  It started to rain ever so slightly on us, but we brushed it off of our shoulders and kept our momentum going.  Most of the shops were closing by 6:00, but a select few stayed open later.  We eat at a great restaurant by recommendation called O'Rorkes.  And incidentally there were a number of stores that indicated they were Polish, or Irish too in this downtown area. 

So Saturday was a great day all in all.  We decided that on Sunday morning starting at 10:00 there was a $35 double decker tour bus which was two hours long.  It was narrated the whole time, and we'd take that tour before having to return north.  It was a quiet night, not getting too dark until past 9:30, but having been outside all day and in the fresh air, it does sap your energy. 

Goderich - Gettysburg

"Fences had to be horse high, bull strong, and hog tight."

There was a lot more memorable events and pictures over my 4 day, 2000km bike trip to Gettysburg last week then fencing, but for some reason this is one of the quotes and facts that stood out.  These Pennsylvania Snake fences have no post holes or nails.  Post hole digging was too labourous, and the steel it would take to make nails was used for the Civil War effort and campaign.  Fencing was very important for the farmers obviously, but the battle at Gettysburg all but destroyed all the fencing that was there.  They have since been recreated, and upon arriving in Gettysburg you see many many miles of this popular way to fence today.

The trip started at 1:30 this past Friday afternoon as we officially exited Goderich at the Canadian Tire gas pumps.  It would be to Stratford, Tavistock, Woodstook, Delhi, Simcoe, and to Fort Erie.  We'd cross the Peace Bridge, and ultimately end up just outside of Letchworth State Park which is 70 miles from Buffalo.

The first day was a long - I had problems with the bike keeping a charge in the battery and getting it started once it was turned off.  What should have been a 6 hour leisurely day turned into 9 or 10 hours on account of my bike.  Mechanically it worked great once we were driving, but it truly had and has an issue with it starting while hot.  There would be nothing in the battery.  We'd have to boost the bike, and of course the battery isn't located simply under the seat or somewhere else very easily accessible.  But that is all I will mention about that because it was such a let down to have a bike in less then great working conditions.....  It was a huge pain in the ass.

The one memorable quote from this day's journey was from the US Border Patrol agent.  He was nice enough, but couldn't quite understand the concept of a sabbatical, though I told him I did work and was a teacher, just not currently.  That went past him.  As the conversation progressed I explained that Gettysburg was the ultimate destination, and he questioned if I was, "Into history or something."  Like that would be problematic, or very curious that someone may occupy their time with such study.  I said I was.  He said, "Then don't let them give you a Sherman neck-tie down there!"  I laughed and carried on that I knew exactly what he was talking about because I am so into history.  I quickly deduced that it would have something to do with a hanging.....  As it is it is about sabotaging the steel on railroads by heating them up and twisting them.  It was rather ironic he said what he did because my motor bike was working so poorly and I think it had a lot to do with the extra heat and not cooling off properly and starting.

  

But by and by we arrived to our first hotel and all was good - just a looong tiring day with bike issues.  Nevertheless we got 430 km of pavement in, and there was a twisting, winding 500 km more on Saturday morning to slay.  The weather would be great. 

Fleetwood Country Cruize

This past Saturday was the final edition of the Fleetwood Country Cruize just outside of London.  What happens is that Steve Plunkett opens up his estate and garages for a car show.  The 3 or 4 garages house one of the largest private collections of Cadillacs.  Everything from pre-WW1, up to the mid 70s I would say.  Perhaps he has some 21st century stuff, but anything I saw was old.  Each garage not only had 20 different cars, but there were also lots of old gas pumps, oil displays, movie memorabilia, signs, and paraphernalia that stretched from 1900 - 1980s.  It is something else.

About 20 acres of his estate had the car show.  There was everything that you could think of; new and old, vans, cars, some motorcycles, and trucks.  The weather wasn't so great, but my buddy Scott and I ambled for 2 hours or more looking at engines, interiors, exteriors, wheels, rims, tires and exhausts. I think all if it is pretty impressive, though my preference of cars would be a Camero from the late 60s.  There were plenty of them.

So Scott Middleton and I got a bit wet from the rain, but it didn't dampen our spirits.  Scott has a '68 or '69 Firebird, but it has been totally redone with a new fuel injected engine and disk brakes all around.  He has had it for about 30 years, and thus has had it torn apart and reworked many times over.  My earliest memories with Scott is riding in that car, and also taking it apart and trying to get it back together.  I kind of though we'd be taking it to the show, but it was in the Jeep instead.   I would guess there was over 1500 cars on the estate taking part in the show.  Plus there were lots of venders and food booths and a beer tent.  Sadly it is going to be the last time he is able to open up his grounds like this to the public.

A Quick Canoe

Last Friday Wally, Shelly and I went for a quick trip down the river.  Starting in Holmesville just after 11:00, we made it to Benmiller dry, and without any issues at all before 12:30.  The river was full of water fowl and the accompanying ducklings and goslings.  Usually you can see something a bit exotic, but not this trip.  A few dead fish floated past us, but no beavers or deer.  No eagles or hawks even on this day.  As it was within the last few hundreds metres of the route Wally spied a raccoon at the edge of the river and no sooner had he mentioned it to us, it scurried off.  We never even saw any other people which is also a bit unusual. 

It was a gorgeous day with light wind and a strong sun.  The river still had plenty of water as we only scraped the bottom once on our 10 km or so journey.  It is so restful and relaxing actually to be out like that.  I wanted to leave the canoe strapped to the truck so that it would encourage me to get out another time soon, but I didn't think that would be realistic so back into the barn it went. 

I don't know too much about canoeing, but I know enough to keep it straight and to bring lots of snacks and food along for the trip.  Wally was snug as a bug in the canoe while he sat on lawn furniture cushions.  We have it pretty good living where we do.  Most people have to drive quite far to do something like this, but for us it isn't 10 miles out from town.  Although in the middle of the summer there wouldn't be enough water to enjoy the trip as much, it is fine for now.  I hope to get up to the Saugeen River sometime this summer for a day out up there.  It is suppose to be great.

Long Weekend 2019

The four of us packed up a few days worth or goodies and headed out to Hawkin's Road.  We had a fire going inside the cabin so we'd be toasty warm, and we had two more fires outside the cabin lit too to clean up a mess and to make s'mores.  The two dirt bikes are also both going strong after a bit of fine tuning, and all the mowers and weed whackers and other gas operated items were all a-go.  There must be no less then 7 or 8 items that require gas out at the farm, and to have them all starting and working correctly is a bit of an achievement for a guy like me who can't really troubleshoot. 

Things are looking good out there.  It really is a nice spot and though there is still a few things to tidy up, it isn't that bad.  The cabin needs facia and eaves troughs for sure.  It also needs a screen door.  Those would really complete the outside and should really be done sooner rather then later.  The inside needs a bit of counter space and some furniture to really give it that extra something-something.  All in time.

As for the rest of the weekend it rained all day on Saturday and Sunday which stopped our planned canoe trip with a bunch of friends down the river.  So we just sort of hung out and stayed indoors and dry given the poor weather.  On Friday night out at the cabin we lit off fireworks.  Molly was quite worried about the whole ordeal and thinking that it wouldn't be safe nor a good idea.  But she warmed up to the idea and was impressed at the display.