Gettysburg Daily

Peace Light Cleaning Update: No Visible Progress



Despite beautiful dry weather at the beginning of the week, no more progress has been made on cleaning the Eternal Light Peace Memorial. This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 5:00 PM on Tuesday, May 19, 2009.

After the initial cleaning attempt on the front (south) side of the Eternal Light Peace Memorial, no other visible progress has been made despite the dry weather we’ve had at the beginning of this week. This might be because the method which they used to clean the front of the monument last Friday, did not completely remove the graffiti.



The only items that appear to have changed on the east steps are the positioning of the orange cones. This view was taken facing north at approximately 5:00 PM on Tuesday, May 19, 2009.



The left (east) and right (north) sides of the monument’s shaft are still covered. This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 5:00 PM on Tuesday, May 19, 2009.



With the road surfacing work preparing to completely close North Confederate Avenue and the Peace Light Parking Lot today (Wednesday) it could be unlikely that the Peace Light will be cleaned before Memorial Day. The monument to the 9th New York Cavalry Regiment is to the left of the trailer, and the 6th New York Cavalry Monument is in the background above the trailer. This view was taken facing south at approximately 5:00 PM on Tuesday, May 19, 2009.



North Reynolds Avenue and Buford Avenue between the Chambersburg Pike (near the white McPherson Barn in the distant background) and the Mummasburg Road (in the foreground) have been closed this week due to the resurfacing. This view was taken facing south at approximately 5:00 PM on Tuesday, May 19, 2009.



The monument to the 153rd Pennsylvania Infantry is still down near Wainwright Avenue. This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 4:30 PM on Tuesday, May 19, 2009.



We thought that this might be a fairly simple fix, because even though the monument was taken apart (twice now and possibly by the same people)… This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 4:30 PM on Tuesday, May 19, 2009.



…it didn’t appear otherwise to have suffered structural damage. The pieces should just fit back together right? This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 4:30 PM on Tuesday, May 19, 2009.



It must be more complicated than a couple of strong guys and a little bit of mortar to fix this. This view was taken facing northeast at approximately 4:30 PM on Tuesday, May 19, 2009.



The only change here is that the recent grass mowing has added grass clippings to the water in the cavity. This view was taken facing northeast at approximately 4:30 PM on Tuesday, May 19, 2009.

See the following related posts:

Another Gettysburg Monument Vandalized on May 19, 2009.
Peace Light: Some Photographs Taken When the Vandalism was First Discovered on January 27, 2009.
Peace Light Monument Vandalism on January 10, 2009.
Eternal Light Peace Memorial Dedication Ceremony on January 1, 2009.
153rd Pennsylvania Monument on Barlow Knoll on September 14, 2008.
Red Cloths Finally Removed From Monuments on July 7, 2008.
Smith’s New York Battery Monument Still Awaits Restoration on May 31, 2008.
A New Type of Vandalism for Memorial Day on May 26, 2008.