Gettysburg Connection Podcast

This week's podcast is a reposting of an interview I did over the winter.  It's relevant now because with the current rains we are getting there are going to be a lot of mosquitoes.

Summers

In this episode I talk with Stephanie Summers who is Adams County’s Mosquito Borne Disease Control & Conservation Technician. Her job is to keep an eye on disease-causing insects in the county, including mosquitoes and ticks.

Stephanie talks about how to the county helps keep these insects under control and how you can stay safe from Lyme disease and West Nile Virus.

Here are some web links you may find useful:

Adams County Conservation District

PA Department of Environmental Protection

U.S. Center for Disease Control Information on Lyme Disease

U.S. Center for Disease Control Information on West Nile Virus

 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Information on Choosing an Appropriate Insect Repellent

Over the July 4 weekend there was a lot of excitement in Gettysburg as hundreds of armed visitors surrounded monuments on the Gettysburg Battlefield.

This week I had a chance to talk with an expert on the Civil War and the Gettysburg monuments, Dr. Scott Hancock, Associate Professor of History and Africana Studies at Gettysburg College.

Dr. Hancock studies the African American experience from the mid-seventeenth century to just before the Civil War and has recently spoken about the history and meaning of the Gettysburg monuments and how education can help us better understand them.

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The site is completely free of charge, but we do ask your help in sharing our content with other people in the community.

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Musical Introduction by Daddy Long Legs.

Gettysburg National Military Park and Eisenhower Historical Site Superintendent Steven D. Sims has been in his position since January and has learned a lot about the park, mostly during a time of pandemic.

In this episode Sims praises the staff, the park, and the borough, and explains many of the current projects the park is working on, including the renovation of the Warfield House, home to an African American blacksmith during the battle.

Sims

Sims also talks about the park’s finances and staffing and the relevancy of the park to the public.

If you enjoy the podcast, please take a few seconds to support us by signing up for our weekly mailing list.

The site is completely free of charge, but we do ask your help in sharing our content with other people in the community.

Please, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Musical Introduction by Daddy Long Legs.

This Podcast was originally published last summer. But the Farmers Market is now in full swing with enhanced hygiene in place so it seemed like a good to time to present it again.

Please wear a mask and social distance when you are at the Farmers Market.

The Adams County Farmers Market is at its best during the harvest season, and the vendors’ tables are now overflowing with produce.

But in addition to hosting the Saturday

morning market, the Adams County Farmers Market Association also sponsors many

community and educational activities in the county.

In this podcast I talk with Reza Djalal who

has been the market manager since May 2018.

Djalal is an Adams County native who grew up

in Biglerville. He graduated from St. John’s College in Santa Fe, NM in 2015

with a BA in Philosophy and the History of Science and Mathematics.

Djalal

You can learn more about the farmers market at its website or Facebook page.

Gettysburg

Connection brings news, events, and opinions to Adams County residents.

If you enjoy the podcast, please take a few seconds to

support us by signing

up for our weekly mailing list.

The site is completely free of charge, but we do ask your

help in sharing our content with other people in the community.

Please, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

A transcription of the podcast follows:

GC: Hi Reza, and

welcome to the podcast. So you've been in your position as market manager of

the Adams County Farmers Market Association for about a year now, and so I

thought it might be a good time for you to share your thoughts about it. Can

you talk a little bit about the Farmers Market Association? When did it start?

Who founded it? And what's its mission?

RD: Sure, So the

Adams County Farmers Market Association is a 501c(6) nonprofit. It has a

twofold mission, sort of.  One side of

that mission is to help support businesses, especially small businesses. We

want to help small farmers and ranchers and dairies thrive in the area in Adams

County. On the other side of that mission is to increase food access and

wellness for all residents and all community members. So we do a lot of

programming that helps support both ends of that, namely, by operating a farmers’

market that offers a high reward, low risk environment for small businesses to

kind of get their start as a platform to launch off into economic success.

GC: Right.  So I want to come back and talk about all the

many different programs that you have. But maybe you can tell us where the

farmers’ market is located and when it's open and how late it's going to be

open this year.

RD: Sure. So we

operate every Saturday morning between May through October from 8 a.m. to 1

p.m. And we're set behind the Gettysburg Transit Center. We’re a couple yards

away from the Majestic Theater down Carlisle Street. So, yeah, we're behind the

transit center every Saturday morning.

GC: Yeah, and

what actually is sold at the market? I mean, I know there would be fruits and

vegetables and fresh produce like that, but what else is there?

RD: Uh, well, you

know, we have a lot of the typical array of farmers’ market niche items. We

have Ragged Edge Roasting Company with us, and they're pretty well known and

have a great coffee product that people might know.

When patients are transported from an accident site to a hospital or from one hospital to another, a helicopter “air ambulance” may be required to keep them alive during the journey.

In Pennsylvania many companies provide air ambulance flights, and one of them is Penn State Health’s Life Lion system.

Perez (left) and Depatto (right)

In this podcast I talk with Life Lion pilot Phil Perez and Life Lion paramedic Joe Depatto about their work and how they help save lives.

Perez and Depatto talk about their work, their experiences, and the importance of their jobs.

Many thanks to Barbara Schindo for arranging the interview.

If you enjoy the podcast, please take a few seconds to support us by signing up for our weekly mailing list or subscribing.

The site is completely free of charge, but we do ask your help in sharing our content with other people in the community.

Please, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Musical Introduction by Daddy Long Legs.

I recently spent a very pleasant morning chatting with long-time Adams County visual artist Nanette Hatzes.

Hatzes: Self Portrait

To put it simply, Nan has made a lot of art.  She’s also raised a daughter and worked at Shippensburg University, as well as presenting her paintings, drawings and photographs at numerous exhibitions.

In 1980 photographer Annie Leibovitz awarded one of her photos first prize in Rolling Stone Magazine’s photography competition. Leibovitz described her photography as “intimate, seductive, and highly personal.”

Did I mention that Nan has made a lot of art?  She’s made so much she’s taken to giving it away to the community through her regular “Art Attacks.”

Nan was also the creator of the very successful “Goddess Project,” a collection of commissioned portraits of local women.

Nan was kind enough to share some of her pieces with us. I thank her for that and I thank Max Bramel for his assistance.

This was my 28th podcast and it was one of the most enjoyable for me.  I hope you’ll like it too.

With spring coming and the COVID-19 crisis leading us toward outdoor activities, it may never be a better time to ride a bicycle in Adams County.

Eric Meyer

The local cycling experience has become even more pleasant with the addition of new bicycle trails that have been built in the past years with the support of the local nonprofit Healthy Adams Bicycle Pedestrian Inc (HABPI).

In this episode HABPI president Eric Meyer talks about his organization's past projects and future plans and about the many individual and community benefits of bicycling.

During the interview, Meyer mentions two local cycling clubs in the area: Franklin County Cyclists and Hanover Cyclers.

More information about Adams County area cycling groups can be found at Gettysburg Bicycle.

Every evening many of the residents of my neighborhood go into the streets at 8:00 p.m. to ring bells and bang on pots to support our essential workers.

In this podcast I got a chance to talk with two of those workers who are on the very front lines, charged with saving the lives of people with COVID.

Gettysburg Hospital Outdoor Admissions Tent

Dr. Stefan Rosenbach is Medical Director of WellSpan Gettysburg Hospital's Emergency Department and Christina Johnston is an Emergency Department RN at Gettysburg hospital.

Stefan and Christy talk candidly about the difficulties they face every day on the COVID floor of the hospital and how they are coping with the workload.

I hope you'll enjoy the podcast. If you do I hope you will subscribe to our podcast series.

My many thanks to Bob Anderson for his help on this recording.

It's been a bit longer than usual since I've recorded a podcast, and I'm happy to be back to you amid this time of difficulty.

Along with all of the county's public schools, churches, businesses, and other agencies that have been closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, most Gettysburg college students were also sent home.

This was a particular blow for graduating seniors as they missed their prom, their commencement, and their last chances to say goodbye to their friends and faculty members.

In this podcast I talk with three Gettysburg students, Phoebe Doescher, Luke Seyfert, and Marana Tso, about how COVID has affected them over the past weeks.

I think you'll find the discussion to be realistic, frank, informative, and moving.

Dear Neighbors,

I have taken the opportunity to use this episode of the Gettysburg Connection podcast to share with you my thoughts during this time of stress and uncertainty.

I you have time, perhaps you will also be interested in listening to some of the prior podcasts I have recorded with Adams County residents.

Please take care and keep safe.