This article originally appeared in the pages of the Gettysburg Times, October of 2024. It was penned by Susan Paddock of the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania, in the hopes of sharing the work the Fellowship does.

What happened in Gettysburg in 1863 is more than history. The Battle and the way President Abraham Lincoln defined it in the Gettysburg Address is a lesson as relevant today as it was then.

Lincoln said we were testing whether any nation based on the idea that “all men are created equal”, can “long endure.” In some ways, the question is still being asked in 2024. Hopefully today we will echo Lincoln’s resolve that “these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” 

This timeless message of our national intention to defend equal rights, our union and our democracy must be passed on perpetually to every new generation. 

That’s what Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania has been doing since 1938 through our public presence.  Every November 19th, hundreds of onlookers help commemorate the Gettysburg Address and re-dedicate the Gettysburg National Cemetery. Every Dedication Day program offers distinguished speakers, ceremonial wreath laying, music, and a new citizens naturalization ceremony.  

We commissioned and care for the most photographed monument in Gettysburg, the “Return Visit” statue on Gettysburg’s historic Lincoln Square. Numerous families and friends cluster around the figures of “Modern Man” and President Lincoln, while Lincoln gestures with his hat toward the Wills House. 

Each summer from Memorial Day to Labor Day, The Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania and Gettysburg National Military Park co-sponsor One Hundred Nights of Taps, Gettysburg, in partnership with Taps for Veterans, Gettysburg’s Licensed Battlefield Guides, and Eisenhower National Historic Site. The program features new material every night, and the buglers come from all over the United States. This year it is estimated that we had over 10,000 visitors watching this educational and moving program.  In 2025 we’ll be going into our 9th year, and we have inspired Taps programs in other towns. 

All of our programs are educational. The Traveling Trunk, offered in partnership with the Gettysburg National Park Service, brings Lincoln information and memorabilia to classrooms. Each February we bring delighted preschoolers to the statue for Lincoln’s Birthday Party. We’ve also hosted historian conversations on YouTube and various other events. Except for the Annual Membership Luncheon, every program is free of cost.

Our all-volunteer Board and membership have been doing all this for 86 years from our kitchen tables. As our programs grow, we realize that the need for our program is larger than volunteers can manage. We are participating in the Giving Spree (ACCFGivingSpree.org) with a goal of getting the help of paid staff and a dedicated office. This year we request “forever fund” donations to Giving Spree to help us continue far into the future because we will always need Lincoln’s voice.