The Lehigh Brigade of the Civil War Round Table and students from Saucon Valley HS formed part of the 66-member contingent from the Lehigh Valley volunteering their services April 21 at the annual Gettysburg Conservation Day.

They cut brush from around the fences on the Henry Spangler Farm site within the battlefield park. The volunteers also dismantled, then rebuilt fences in need of repair, as well as painted posts, pickets and rails.

“We’ve been working with the park for 25 years,” said CWRT Brigade Commander Edwin Root, who organized the Lehigh Valley crew. He added, “We’ve been doing it before there was an official program.”

Root mentioned that since their members are not as young as they were then, other area organizations have been assisting for the last five years.

Round Table member Bob McHugh, an American history teacher at Saucon Valley HS, recruited a large number of his students to help out. He explained the young volunteers would be able to apply this to their community service requirement for National Honor Society and college resumes.

“A promise of ice cream helps too,” said McHugh with a grin.

CWRT member Gary Weaver, who also belongs to the Whitehall Historical Society, recruited fellow members from that group.

Boy Scout Troop 89 from New Tripoli also participated.

“My brother Jim Duffy, who belongs to the Civil War Round Table, volunteered our troop and the rest is history,” said John Duffy, who describes himself as a “common member” of Troop 89.

While the tired volunteers relaxed after a hard morning’s work, they learned the property had been the staging ground for Kemper’s Brigade prior to Pickett’s charge from NPS Volunteer Coordinator Caitlin Brown.

The NPS Adopt-A-Position program matches volunteer organizations with regimental positions, or in the case of the contingent from the Lehigh Valley, suggests areas of the park that require attention, according to Brown.

Information: cwrteasternpa.org.