May 8, 2015

The Lincoln Leadership Institute Sponsors "The Memoirs of Abraham Lincoln"

Photo courtesy of Totem Pole Playhouse


Marking the 150th anniversary of the death of Abraham Lincoln, Granville Van Dusen brings his acclaimed PBS production of the one-man play "The Memoirs of Abraham Lincoln" to the Totem Pole Playhouse stage for his farewell performance as the nation's sixteenth president.

Written by playwright Peter King Beach and directed by Academy Award-winning Best Director Delbert Mann, the play had its world premiere 25 years ago at Gettysburg College’s Kline Theatre. The play is a refreshing portrait of one of our country’s most beloved presidents, spanning his early years as a country lawyer, to the troubling times of the Civil War.

The Lincoln Leadership Institute is sponsoring the performance. Lincoln Leadership Institute President Steve Wiley is a proud supporter of the play. Here's what he told Celebrate Gettysburg about his connection to this summer's farewell performance.
"When I came to Gettysburg College in 19-something, the first thing I did was go to the drug store [at the Wills House] to buy some things. That was where the Lincoln room was up above...in the Wills House. I was mesmerized by the Lincoln bedroom, and now here it is many years later and this is our office. My mom and dad both passed away and are buried a couple feet away from where Lincoln actually delivered the Gettysburg Address in the private cemetery. When the opportunity to help support the Totem Pole Playhouse in this manner came about, I thought it was in the stars that we should help support it."
Shows are scheduled July 10-26. To purchase tickets or view showtimes, visit www.totempoleplayhouse.org.

About The Lincoln Leadership Institute 
The Lincoln Leadership Institute at Gettysburg has developed several offerings that present “pure plays” in leadership that provide insight to timeless leadership issues—issues that were present in 1863 with President Abraham Lincoln, and issues that are relevant to organizations today. These sessions provide metaphors in which history comes alive and the leadership shift that occurred during the Battle of Gettysburg and its history-altering result are examined.

To learn more about The Lincoln Leadership Institute, visit gettysburgleadership.com.

April 29, 2015

How to Become a Licensed Battlefield Guide

By Karen Hendricks
Photo by Casey Martin

Licensed Battlefield Guide Tom Vossler leads a tour group. 


About 560 people have become licensed battlefield guides since 1915. Joining their elite ranks requires dedication in many ways. The first step is contacting Supervisory Ranger Angie Atkinson of the National Park Service (NPS) to submit your name as a candidate. She will begin accepting names this summer, in preparation for the next written exam, which is not yet scheduled. If there is a need for additional guides, exams are typically given on the first Saturday in December. During the past dozen years, the three-hour written exam has been offered every other year.

According to Licensed Battlefield Guide and ALBG Vice President Steve Slaughter, the exam covers the Battle of Gettysburg, the Civil War in general, the chronology of events, battle action, locations, maps, and identification of monuments—a comprehensive collection of information.

It’s also a highly-competitive process. Recent exams have been attracting between 200-300 candidates, with only the top 20 candidates moving on to oral examinations. Candidates are given two chances to pass the oral exam. The format is a two-hour “trial run” tour presented to two examiners—a NPS ranger and a current licensed battlefield guide.

If licensed, a guide must annually conduct a minimum number of tours and pay a guide fee. Guides are not required to become members of the ALBG; about 75 to 80 percent of current guides are also ALBG members.

The following advice is offered by current licensed battlefield guides:
  • Take tours with current guides.
  • Once the date of the next written test is announced, take advantage of a series of classes offered by the ALBG.
  • A sample guide exam, along with guide reference books, are located on the ALBG website at www.gettysburgtourguides.org/faqs.html.
  • “Successful guides are people persons—you have to have the right personality—be outgoing and enjoy people of all ages from kids to seniors—you have to enjoy people,” emphasizes Slaughter.

The Battle of Gettysburg: Through the Eyes of Michael Schroyer

By Karen Hendricks

The inside of Shroyer's diary (Photo courtesy of Sue Boardman)


Sue Boardman became a licensed battlefield guide thanks to a passion for Civil War history ignited by discovering and reading a diary written by Michael Schroyer, who served in Co. G, 147th PA Volunteers, based in her hometown area of Snyder County.

Here are Schroyer’s diary entries at the time of the Battle of Gettysburg, as he wrote them, but with locations capitalized:

Maryland June 30 Tuesday we marched through Taneytown. Crossed over into Pennsylvania and went through Littlestown and drove before us the enemys pickets with a skirmish at Littlestown capturing a few of the enemy. travelled 15 miles

July 1 1863 Wednesday we went back to Littlestown and took the Gettysburg pike and travelled within 11 miles to Gettysburg and stayed there all night very hard fighting.  Travelled about 12 miles

July 2 Thursday we went about 11 mile to the right of the line of battle and layed there until 12 o’clock at night when we again returned to our line of battle

July 3 the rebs then occupied our breastworks we commenced fighting about 5
o’clock in the morning and continued until two. About noon the rebs left the breastworks and we then went into them again. we left them on the night before the fight. The rebs then went into them but could not hold them. The wounded in our company are Calvin C. Parks in finger. Corporal bower Harris in hip. Thus ended the 3 of July. The rebs retreated with heavy loss

July 4 Saturday 1863 it was all along the line.  Quiet on the night of the 3 of July the rebs on a retreat. Our army burying the dead.

July 5 Sunday I was detailed to help bury rebel dead. we buried 42 rebs in one grave or trench and 31 rebs in another. we then went to marching.

April 23, 2015

In the Footsteps of Leaders

The Gettysburg Foundation Leadership Program

By Karen Hendricks
Photo by Casey Martin

Licensed Battlefield Guide Sue Boardman leads a tour group.


Since 2007, more than 100 clients have retraced the steps of officers across the Gettysburg Battlefield, studying movements and decisions made in 1863 in order to gain 21st-century insights into leadership and communication styles.

“The battlefield is an experiential place,” explains Sue Boardman, licensed battlefield guide and leadership program director of Gettysburg Foundation. “The setting is so compelling…and the decisions made on the battlefield provided immediate and dramatic results.”

Boardman and a small team of licensed battlefield guides provide customized leadership programs for corporate groups ranging in size from 12 to 25 members, with programs lasting 1-2 days. More than 75 percent of their corporate clients are repeat customers. And since its founding in 2007, the program has always topped the previous year’s number of tours. In 2014, they provided 41 tours.

Corporate clients include such well-known companies as:
·       The Boeing Company
·       Lockheed Martin
·       Sherwin-Williams Company
·       The Hershey Company
·       Trader Joe’s
·       Crayola
·       White House Military Office
·       University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business

Which Union and Confederate officers provide the most interesting case studies? “General Lee had a specific style of leadership…he was very aloof,” says Boardman. “So, he did not do a lot of specific communicating. He had lost his senior strategist, Stonewall Jackson, whom he replaced two weeks before the Battle of Gettysburg. Gen. Ewell had never served at that level and was also deficient in communications.”

Additional Civil War leadership styles presented within the program include:

John Buford: A middle management officer and the first Union general on the battlefield, he seized a battle-winning opportunity even though it was outside his job description.

James Longstreet: A Confederate general, he is known for making one of the toughest calls of the battle when he had to choose between the advice of his staff on the ground and his superior’s orders.

Joshua Chamberlain: This low-ranking Union officer provided a timeless example of “thinking outside the box” and “coolness under pressure” on the Gettysburg Battlefield.

Here’s what clients had to say:

“In both the private sector and in government, the most prized attribute for any executive is leadership. Leaders impart vision, set the agenda, and inspire. And most successful leaders are not ‘born’—they are made. The Gettysburg Leadership Experience is an ideal program to help “make” future leaders. I engaged with the national treasure called Gettysburg while I was superintendent at West Point, and l have taken business leaders on battlefield ‘staff rides’ in my current position with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In every case, the feedback from participants clearly indicated that their exposure to the Gettysburg battlefield, through the ‘lens’ of leadership, was one of the best development opportunities they had ever encountered.”
Lieutenant Gen. (Retired) Dan Christman, Former Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point

“This was the best battle staff ride I ever experienced. I am a retired colonel USMC and have had three previous battle staff rides at Gettysburg.”
Martin J. Sullivan, Lockheed Martin

“The way the moves were broken down and used as leadership philosophies was a terrific learning tool.” 
Anthony Ferrera, CSX

“The feedback I've received from the group has been nothing short of remarkable. Both days of the conference worked exceptionally well together and I am convinced that it was an extraordinary experience for everyone. I believe the educational value of the program was unmistakable and I look forward to working with you in the years ahead to bring other groups of our talented Franklin & Marshall community to the Battlefield. Thank you again for all that you did to make this event such a resounding success.”
Steven P. O'Day, J.D., Senior Associate Dean of the College F&M College

“As we all gathered at the airport on our way home, we reflected on what each of us got from [the Footsteps program] and it is not an understatement to say that it will be ‘life changing.’”
Dan Bane, Chairman and CEO, Trader Joe’s

March 10, 2015

Residential Hospice Care Options

By Karen Hendricks

Hospice of Central Pennsylvania offers a unique option to families: the region’s only stand-alone hospice residential facility, the Carolyn Croxton Slane Residence, 1701 Linglestown Road, Harrisburg.

“It’s a homelike setting for people who can’t be treated in their own home,” says Hospice of Central Pennsylvania President and CEO Gil Brown. “Maybe it’s because there aren’t resources in their home for around-the-clock care, or family members who’ve been caring for them for so long they need respite. Perhaps they have acute symptoms and need a nurse present 24 hours a day. Any of those reasons lead them to become a resident.”

Brown says the residential hospice provides temporary care as opposed to long-term care, with most clients staying 30 days or less. Despite the brief lengths of stay, Brown says it makes a substantial difference in patients’ lives.

“A lot of patients treated in the residence come there from a hospital. They leave a typical hospital setting—sterile and industrial, with machines beeping, noise in the hallway—and find themselves in a suburban ranch style home with a private room. The family has access to their loved one 24 hours a day; they can bring a dog or cat, or the grandkids. There are beautiful landscaped gardens and walkways that are wonderful to spend time in--it really does feel like a home.”

Honoring Hospice Patients’ Last Requests

By Karen Hendricks 

While hospice care is built around medical needs and comfort, it also addresses patients’ end-of-life goals, wishes, and dreams. Angie Pickel, hospice social worker for Lutheran Home Care & Hospice, says it’s incredible to be a part of these chance-of-a-lifetime plans.

“One gentleman wanted to go to his daughter’s wedding, but he was in bed all the time,” she says. “So we arranged for a recliner chair to be at the reception for him. So not only was he able to go and participate in his daughter’s wedding, but he also got to dance with his wife for the last time. He died a few days later.”

“Another gentleman wanted to go hunting for the last time. By the grace of God, a friend of a friend of his wife’s coworker had access to a fantasy, once-in-a-lifetime, trip to a deer park. His life was complete. His wife also treasures that experience because she was able to go along with him.
“One of my clients had a sad beginning to her life—her mother died in childbirth giving birth to a brother. But at the end of her life she was so loved, surrounded by loved ones—she was 100 when she passed away.”

“I had another client—a 108-year-old woman tell me the secret to life was ‘not getting married’ because she was an old maid.”

“At hospice, we try to approach everything from a positive place. But there are clients who are angry. Not everyone has a happy story. The saddest cases are when people have shut out others. I had a 91-year-old man kick me out of his house because he hadn’t lived enough and said he wasn’t dying. It was a moment that made me think about life. I also had a 9-year-old very acceptant of the fact that he was doing to die. It’s not in the years that we live, but how we view them.”

“There aren’t many children in hospice, one or two a year, and we do get several people in 20-50 age group. I’ve had young moms who had to say goodbye to their kids. There are moments that pull at your heartstrings, people in the prime of their lives. We focus on the gift they were when they were alive and how we honor their memory.”

January 5, 2015

Inspiring Hope for Haiti

Founded by Haiti native Jacques Merine, Source of Life Ministries is helping street children thrive in Port au Prince 

By Catriona Todd 
Photography by Mike Chepurin



The desperation and hopelessness of daily life in Haiti is not something that can be fully grasped by a 30-second clip on the nightly news. Even before the earthquake five years ago, citizens of the impoverished nation struggled to survive. Americans are a very empathetic people, but as Vern Annis, founder of Thirsty Souls Ministries in Hanover, Pa., says, “Our poorest of the poor live better than your average Haitian.”

Jacques Merine, founder of Source of Life Ministries and director of a safe house for street children in Haiti, couldn’t agree more. He grew up in Haiti and wishes that all Americans would have the opportunity to see the Haitian life, to fully grasp why his mission is so important. “What [Haitians] have to do day to day to feed their families—it is just unreal,” he says.

Although Merine was blessed with a loving family and parents who saw the value of educating their four children, they were poor and hungry. His mother would rise early on school days and go to the market to try to earn 20 cents to give each child five pennies to buy lunch. Merine and his siblings would then walk four hours round-trip to and from the nearest school their parents could afford. They were never sure if they would have the opportunity to eat an evening meal when they got home.

For Haitians who have left the country, it is unusual to return except to visit family; however, most emigrants do send financial aid back to those left behind. Merine’s younger brother Jean never visited the U.S., but he was able to excel in his education thanks to funds sent to him by his older siblings. He acquired degrees in theology and journalism and always sought to further his education. At the time of his death, he was acing a course in English.

Four years after arriving in the U.S., Jacques traveled back to Haiti in 1989 to marry his fiancée, Marie. He continued traveling to Haiti once each year, and in 1992, he was able to take one week’s vacation to visit his wife as she neared the end of her first pregnancy. The very night he was to return to the U.S., Carson was born. Fathers do not attend the birth in Haitian hospitals, but Jacques was able to see his son through the nursery window before he left the country.

As he spent the next several years seeking approval to bring his wife and child to the U.S., Jacques continued visiting them one week each year. Naturally, he missed many of his son’s developmental milestones, but just before he turned 4, they were reunited in Gettysburg. Their family was completed by the birth of their daughter, Tasha, who attends Gettysburg Middle School. Carson is a graduate of Gettysburg High School and will graduate from Bloomsburg University in May with hopes of becoming a lawyer.

Although he always dreamed of the day he could leave Haiti behind for good, Jacques heeded the call to aid street children in Port au Prince. “Once you have an orphanage [in Haiti], you’re in the business of adoption, a cost of $30,000 for a child,” Jacques says. “This is not what Source of Life Ministries is about, so that’s why I call it a safe home.”

Building a Better Future for Haiti’s Children 
The process for acquiring new children is very time consuming. “It is very, very tricky,” Jacques says. Although the Haitian government doesn’t have any programs in place to care for orphaned or abandoned children, it does care very much that a ministry has proof of how it acquired each specific child. Acquisition of children by the safe home has been slowed not only by the death of Jean, but also by challenges that continue to extend from the earthquake five years ago.

Most construction in Haiti is performed by hand, and workers are in high demand as the country continues to recover. As such, building the new home has been an arduous and extremely expensive process. Two buildings that house the dormitories, kitchen, and dining facilities were raised first, with plans for expansion later.

The current and most urgent task at hand is completing a safety wall around the property. Although the new location is far less dangerous than the city, it is important to secure the property against squatters, thieves, or other malicious persons. While construction materials for buildings have changed to avoid such devastation from future natural disasters, the safety wall is being constructed of handmade concrete blocks. It is 8 feet tall and surrounds a three-acre parcel of land, making it the most expensive and slowest undertaking to date.

As soon as the wall is finished and funds can be raised, Jacques hopes to construct a guesthouse to accommodate volunteers from the U.S. as well as another dormitory. There are currently 13 children in the home, ranging in ages from 7 to 18 and housed by gender. As the ministry works to bring in more children, it will be imperative to provide some separation by age as well.

Children who attend school in Haiti usually do so into their early 20s. It is Jacques’ desire to support each child through job training or university to allow them to prosper. He sees it as a waste of time, money, and education to release a child simply because he or she has reached a certain age or has finished grade school. “If you send that child back exactly where he came from 20 years ago,” he says, “it’s going to be even worse for that child than for those who are still [in the street] because he’s not really equipped.”

“A Strong Foundation of Support”
Pastor Jeff Riedel of Moncks Corner, S.C., has operated the Haitian Christian Projects ministry with his wife Rita for more than 10 years. In addition to providing the Merine brothers with advice and a wealth of knowledge when they began looking for land in the area, Riedel has helped the children establish their own flock of chickens and a fledgling herd of goats at the safe house.

Hunger is the most essential hurdle to overcome in the struggle to improve Haiti as poverty and malnutrition go hand in hand. “The majority of Haitian culture doesn’t think about tomorrow when they are hungry today,” Riedel says.

It is Jacques’ fervent hope that the safe house can one day become self-sufficient to allow more funds to go toward increasing the ministry and educating the children instead of the food budget. Unlike the U.S., agriculture in Haiti is not a large industry focused on feeding the populace. There are a few cash crops including coffee, sugar cane and rice, but they are mostly grown for export.

While Americans can turn to their local Cooperative Extension office for advice and instruction in growing, raising, and safely preserving food, the Haitian government does not have anything in place to educate its citizens. Landowners might try to grow sweet potatoes or corn, but they are essentially on their own to learn the pitfalls of gardening. Eventually, Jacques hopes to take local Pennsylvania farmers with him to help establish a successful system for growing food.

In the meantime, he must focus on building a strong foundation of support from churches and groups in the U.S. “My biggest challenge is fundraising,” he says. “I need help. I need people who would have a heart for these children, for Haiti, who would love to see something accomplished for them.”

Riedel knows what it takes to operate a successful ministry in a country where the needs are so great. For Source of Life Ministries to be successful in the full scope of its mission, it will require partnership with individuals, groups, and churches in the U.S. Without the support of individuals, ministries fail, he says.

For more information about the ministry, current and future projects, and to become involved, visit www.sourceoflifeministries.com.

How You Can Help Haiti’s Children

By Catriona Todd

For Source of Life Ministries’ safe house in Port au Prince to be successful, it will require partnerships with individuals, groups, and churches in the U.S. If you’re interested in helping to provide a safe and loving environment for Haiti’s children, then consider getting involved. Here’s how you can help.  

Partners in Prayer
Safety is always a concern in Haiti. Pray for the children and for those travelling to volunteer at the home, as well as the completion of the safety wall around the property.

The needs are great in Haiti. Pray for the growth of the ministry that more children can be brought into the home.

Have a heart for Haiti. Pray or consider becoming involved by sponsoring a child, donating money to fund building projects, or visiting Haiti to volunteer your time at the home.

Spread Awareness
Invite Jacques Merine to speak to your church or group. Bring Haiti out of the headlines, and hear how members of your own community are directly involved in improving this impoverished nation.

Financial Support
All funds given to Source of Life Ministries go directly to funding the operation of the safe house and its building projects, unless directed to a specific need (listed on website).

Consider sponsoring a child. Sponsors help fund the daily care of their child and in return receive regular updates and may communicate directly through letters.

Visit Haiti
The only way to truly understand the Haitian life is to see it firsthand. Volunteers are invaluable in helping to complete projects and interact with the children.

Visit www.sourceoflifeministries.com for more information about the ministry, including current projects and future endeavors.