A long-time Gettysburg summer tradition is no longer.
The Gettysburg Anniversary Committee (GAC) announced they are not planning to host a 157th Civil War anniversary reenactment for 2020.
"We are honored to have hosted over 100,000 reenactors, 500,000 visitors, and provided well over 1,000 community staff positions," said GAC in an announcement post on their Facebook page.
The GAC has been hosting annual Gettysburg Civil War battle reenactments for the past 25 years.
People close to the organization say there were a lot of factors that led to this decision, one of them being a decline in reenactors and attendees.
Many took to Facebook disappointed and surprised.
Tim Hodge, now a living historian, recalls his visits to Gettysburg as a kid.
"Second grade," Hodges smiled. "Went down to the battlefield and did a tour. I was hooked."
For Hodge, the trip sparked a life-long interest in history.
He said he enjoys sharing history now with others.
"What's really, really cool is when you see the sparkle in that young child's eyes, they just light up," he explained.
He believes he and reenactors help keep history alive.
It's why the news there won't be another July Civil War reenactment in Gettysburg has him upset.
"It's a special place and I just really hate to see anything happen to it," Hodge said.
He says unfortunately in the last few years, he has noticed fewer reenactors and interest not just in Gettysburg, but in other parts of the country where he travels.
The decline in Gettysburg is something Destination Gettysburg officials had noticed as well.
“People are discovering history in a different way," Destination Gettysburg President Norris Flowers said. "So now our younger people like to discover battlefields on a segway or on a bicycle or on horseback and not necessarily on a reenactment."
Annual visitation numbers are still close to 4 million.
And the amount of money spent by visitors has climbed in the last few years. Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development data shows visitors in Adams County spent more than $725 million in 2017, which is up from the $691 million dollars spent in 2016.
"We have other attractions that do Civil War events year-round, so there is still plenty of Civil War activities for people to do in Gettysburg," Flowers explained.
Though the end of the reenactment is disappointing many, Hodge is trying to remain optimistic.
"We just have to give the young people that little spark," he sighed.
There is a large group of people who were quite upset with this decision on Facebook.
There is some talk there and in town that a group is planning to find another way to keep the tradition alive.
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