Gettysburg’s Lights Seek a Nonprofit Savior

It was inevitable that in this era of CGI movies and personal avatars, a visual aid as quaint as the light bulb-laden battlefield display at the Gettysburg National Military Park would fall by the wayside. A shiny new facility stands ready to present the details of the seminal Civil War battle using the latest technology, while the massive, ’60s-era electric map will be taken apart and mothballed before the National Park Service demolishes the old park center. But an Idahoan named Jon DeKeles has started a website to preserve the map, and a National Park Service spokeswoman told the Associated Press that the service "is willing to turn it over to any nonprofit group that would use it for educational purposes."

Hmm. The National Civil War Museum is in Harrisburg, not too far from Gettysburg, and surely there are a host of other Civil War-related nonprofits that might be willing to earn some positive PR by rescuing an educational icon. For a small outlay, the right organization could reap quite a windfall. | 501(c)