My first week of work as a ProRanger at Gettysburg has been a whirlwind of activity as I travel about the park to meet the many employees who make the park function. This was an excellent way to familiarize myself with the administration at Gettysburg and their specific roles within the National Park Service.<\/div>\n
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<\/a>Most of the administration at Gettysburg is headquartered in the National Park Service Visitor Center and Museum. The Visitor Center and Museum has over 22,000 square feet of exhibit space, with state-of-the-art facilities, artifacts from the battle, and multimedia presentations on the Civil War. The current facility is double in size from the old visitor center and explores the broader social history and context of the Battle of Gettysburg. Supervisory Ranger of Law Enforcement Ryan Levins toured the museum with me and introduced me to the rangers and office staff working on site. Among the many things we looked at was a computer kiosk where you can research your name through a National Park Service database to determine if you had an ancestor who fought in the Civil War. Unfortunately, no Castaldo’s came up, but perhaps some more research on my end will reveal some other ancestor!<\/div>\n
![](\"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-nlGnc007Yms\/T8KQbwcdVCI\/AAAAAAAAAAw\/N8wMFnibuA8\/s1600\/IMG_20120514_103843.jpg\")
<\/a>Most of the administration at Gettysburg is headquartered in the National Park Service Visitor Center and Museum. The Visitor Center and Museum has over 22,000 square feet of exhibit space, with state-of-the-art facilities, artifacts from the battle, and multimedia presentations on the Civil War. The current facility is double in size from the old visitor center and explores the broader social history and context of the Battle of Gettysburg. Supervisory Ranger of Law Enforcement Ryan Levins toured the museum with me and introduced me to the rangers and office staff working on site. Among the many things we looked at was a computer kiosk where you can research your name through a National Park Service database to determine if you had an ancestor who fought in the Civil War. Unfortunately, no Castaldo’s came up, but perhaps some more research on my end will reveal some other ancestor!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
After a quick walk-though of the Visitor Center and Museum, I met with Brion Fitzgerald, Deputy Superintendent and Chief Ranger for Law-Enforcement and Interpretation. Mr. Fitzgerald warmly welcomed me to the park and discussed the ongoing projects and programs that were going on, including plans for the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg in 2013. I even got an opportunity to review the planning for the Gettysburg Memorial Service to take place at the Gettysburg National Cemetery next year. An amazing amount of details goes into organizing these events, which the National Park Service administration has to carefully review. Planning entails everything from deciding on stage design to selecting celebrity speakers, but above all else, the message of remembering the fallen soldiers was top priority.<\/div>\n