Battle re-enactment plans move forward in Birmingham

You are currently viewing Battle re-enactment plans move forward in Birmingham

Battle plans are being made in Birmingham Township — re-enactment battle plans, that is.

Township supervisors and members of the Recreation, Parks and Open Space Committee are continuing to develop plans for a Battle of Brandywine re-enactment tentatively planned for Sandy Hollow Park in the spring of 2014.

Members of the committee told supervisors during their April 1 board meeting that they are still looking to hold the event next spring, but might push it back to 2015 if they can’t get everything planned out properly for 2014.

Still in the early planning stages, the idea is to have the re-enactment with cannon and musket fire at the bottom of the hill at the park. Re-enactor Paul Loane, of the 2nd Pennsylvania and the 43rd Regiment of Foot, said he has walked the property and determined that the mock gunfire should not disrupt the adjacent neighborhood.

Loane’s group, representing both sides of the War for Independence, has put on demonstrations at Brandywine Battlefield Park, Brandywine Creek State Park and at Valley Forge.

He added that it would be a regional event that would attract re-enactors — about 300 — from the Mid Atlantic region. If it catches on, he said, the event could draw national attention and bring in people even from Canada.

One of the concerns is whether or not there is ample parking for re-enactor and spectators. Committee members believe there is sufficient parking if the upper portion of the park is used for that purpose.

“It’s a big project, a lot of work,” said Committee Chairman Mike Langor. But he added that there are enough volunteers to get everything organized for an April or May 2014 event.

It’s planned as a two-day event with the British winning on Saturday and the colonials winning on Sunday, Loane said.

Supervisor John Conklin said he likes the idea and thinks it could work. He and the rest of the board will be updated monthly on the committee’s progress to get enough information for proper planning.

For years there had been an annual re-enactment of the 1771 battle at Brandywine Battlefield Park in Chadds Ford Township, but that is state-owned property. The state stopped operating the park in 2009 and currently does not allow the use of gunpowder or campfires on any of its sites.

Other business

• Conklin said the first interpretive sign has been installed at Birmingham Hill. Another sign is planned for Sandy Hollow. The signs include QR codes, a form of bar code that uploads information to a mobile device such as a cell phone or tablet. As previously reported, one advantage of encoded signs is that people can get more information without there being extra text on the sign. (See photo. The QR code is on the right hand side of the blue field at the top of the sign.)

• Owners of the current Comfort Inn on Route 202 will be going before the Zoning Hearing Board for a sign variance on April 24. The motel is becoming a Holiday Inn Express. Owners are looking to raise the height of the new sign from 15 feet to 20 feet. Supervisors agreed to neither support nor oppose the request.

• Supervisors voted to retain the services of lawyer Joe Rudolph in connection with police officers exploring the option of forming a bargaining unit. There is no call for unionization yet, said Conklin, but Rudolph has been retained to “protect the rights of the public.”

• Kathleen Kennedy was appointed to the Historical and Architectural Review Board. Her term expires the end of this year.

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading...

Comments

comments

Leave a Reply