Fate of Ft. Hartsuff topic in paper today.

[River City John]

From Omaha World-Herald Opinion section, p4B, Saturday June 20, 2009


                                                       "HISTORIC FORT IS WORTH SAVING

  The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is considering possible cuts in funding and staff in July at Fort Hartsuff State Historical Park near Burwell, Neb. Staff funding is not scheduled to be cut at Mahoney State Park near Ashland.(Neb)
  I believe Fort Hartsuff is essential to the history of Nebraska. If the park were to be given limited access to the public, it would be like erasing a chapter from Nebraska's history.
  Mahoney State Park is a popular facility but does not reflect the heritage of the state. It was built along Interstate 80 between the two large cities of Omaha and Lincoln in order to make money.
  Fort Hartsuff was not built to be a state park or make money. We are incredibly lucky to have the fort still standing in as good of condition as it is today.
  Mahoney State Park could survive a cut in it's budget. Fort Hartsuff probably couldn't. Even though the fort is not a money-generating venture, it is a treasure that should be preserved because of it's historical significance to the state.
                                                  Jeff Barnes, Omaha"


I have sent a response agreeing with Mr. Barnes along with some facts how Ft. Hartsuff is historically important, plus mention of the GAF Grand Muster that has been there.

My response to the Public Pulse:

    " I was very pleased to see Mr. Barnes letter 6/20/'09 lamenting the fate of
Ft. Hartsuff due to proposed funding cuts.
     The fort is unique in that it is one of just two preserved original
military forts of the Indian Wars period left in the United States, and the only
Indian War-era post to my knowledge built out of abundant local resources of
sand, local lime, and water(-or essentially concrete, which also accounts for
it's amazing state of preservation).
     The original wood-fired bakery oven still operates on occaision,- the
blacksmith forge and Saddler's barn is notable for it's preservation, and the
grounds and various buildings are beautiful in their setting. Ft. Hartsuff
played an important role in the protection of the Nebraska sandhills  and
figured prominently in one minor skirmish known as The Battle of the Blowout.
     The Grand Army of the Frontier, a national organization whose membership
honor the history of military service during the Victorian era through
recreating a uniformed persona for competition shooting, has held their Grand
Muster there in years past, and will again this October. To see these men and
women, representing all branches of service from that era, in uniform within the
setting of Ft. Hartsuff  literally transports you back in time and takes your
breath away. The future of these kinds of events being hosted at Ft. Hartsuff is
in question.
      Buffalo Bill's Scout Ranch is also going to be subject to budgetary cuts
and will suffer equally. As Mr. Barnes correctly pointed out in his letter,
these sites ARE the heritage of our state and should not be sacrificed without
protest.

John Covert
(Bvt). Actg. Lieutenant(Naval) and Adjutant
Dept. Of the Missouri
GAF"

RCJ

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

RCJ;  Is manning the Fort with a volunteer garrison an option? Perhaps some "sutlers' would offer support?

[River City John]

RCJ;  Is manning the Fort with a volunteer garrison an option? Perhaps some "sutlers' would offer support?

Col. Pitsptr, (THE authority, as his devotion to Ft. Hartsuff has been a life work) has some very good thoughts on ways to increase funding. In the long run, increasing attendance by the public is the best way to force the NG&PC to review these decisions. If the park brings in more money, that will cause them to sit up and begin to scratch their knobby heads and push their pencil nubbins around a bit more.
To have 'volunteers' there would call for an increase in funds just to maintain the site for their presence. It's a "Catch-22" thing, as a state park means that monies and personnel must come through the state there is no such thing as free help.

It is an ongoing issue.

What should be very apparent, and of primary importance to us in the GAF, is that this year's Grand Muster will likely be an absolutely historical and uniquely memorable event, never to be repeated not only in the history of our organization but in Nebraska history.

RCJ

[Delmonico]

I as a fellow Nebraskan am very Poed over this, my Dad took me up there shortly after it opened.  Ft. Hartsuff was named after a fine Civil War General, Mahoney Park was named after an as#%*$e, there is a reason a lot of us call it "Parks and Politics."

I wish the Fort was closer to me and I had more time, I would like to do more to help.  But I also have another project just as worthy, get as many folks to Rock Creek Station to keep our numbers up there also so it don't also suffer a horrible fate by &%#$#^&^*&^%^%^'s who don't give a damn about our history, but instead think water slides and put and take fishing lakes are far more important.

Sady Ft. Hartsuff suffers from being about as far off the beaten path as any place in the state can be.

[River City John]

In addition, it has been mentioned by some, myself included, that taking on the care and support of Ft. Hartsuff would be an ideal calling for the GAF, giving our organization added purpose and a moral compass. Such societies as "The Friends of Ft. Huachuca" exist. But the other 'Catch-22' is that efforts to privately make up shortfalls through a society or similar would probably cause the state to say "Oh Alrighty then, you take over the responsibility. . ." and then drop all funding and backing which Ft. Hartsuff does depend upon. Even though it's seemingly being squeezed down to the level where only a squad of mice and seven grasshoppers could survive under the state's blessed countenance in the future. With perhaps an occasional wolf spider migrating through now and then.    

RCJ

[Delmonico]

We do have a fairly new Friends of Rock Creek Station organization formed, a non-profit corp.

[Texas Lawdog]

I am not a resident of Nebraska, but I visit there a couple times each year to celebrate the heritage of Nebraska. I have attended the GAF Muster at Fort Harstuff and the celebration at Rock Creek Station. I drive up there from Texas and enjoy the history of Nebraska. The State of Nebraska needs to support these venues so that the people and more important the children of Nebraska can visit these important parts of the history of Nebraska. I will continue to attend these celebrations as long as I am able to. I have able to meet a lot of residents of Nebraska who share my enjoyment of attending these celebrations.

[Delmonico]

TLD, E-Mail that to the Game and Parks folks, in fact any of you from out state who have came here for our historical parks, please E-mail them and let them know, it can't hurt.

[Texas Lawdog]

I will do that next week.

[Pitspitr]

The proposed budget cuts at Fort Hartsuff really have the locals up in arms. People who had never spent much time there are jumping around and trying all sorts of things to save it. One of these steps was to form a “Friends of Fort Hartsuff” While in some ways this is a good thing, as I see it, it the Game and Parks Commission might use it as  an excuse to cut funding further, sighting the availability of local funds. The use of local volunteers to do maintenance has also been mentioned as one possible solution. As the former Coordinator for Living History and Volunteers” I can tell you that the problem with this idea is that there just isn't a large enough population base to support this kind of an ongoing operation.  It takes approximately 16 hours a week to mow the grounds at Fort Hartsuff. I'm sure a number of people could be convinced to volunteer to mow a couple of hours a week but by the end of the growing season finding anyone willing or able to come out and mow would be difficult. The first year I was running the Living History program, we had about 20 volunteers that would show up for an afternoon of marching and drilling once or twice a month. Within a couple of years, when the "new had worn off," it was difficult to find half that number that would spend even an hour or two three days a year.
   Right now my efforts have been directed at trying to work with my state senator, Deb Fischer to change the way the parks are funded and possibly who runs the Historical Parks. Currently the way one gains admission to state parks is to buy either a one day park entry permit ($4.00) or a yearly park entry permit ($21.00) for your vehicle. You can buy a second annual permit for a second vehicle for $11.00.
   Among other things I drive a school bus and if I were to take a group of say 40 kids to Fort Hartsuff for a field trip, I would buy a daily permit for $4.00 to put on the bus. This figures out to 10 cents per person. For this 10 Cents the kids would have a member of the parks staff give them an orientation, as well as having their trash emptied from the trash cans, the restrooms cleaned and they would see a well maintained facility. They could also then visit any other park in the park system without paying any further entry fees. Now it wouldn’t even be so bad if the park could then just deposit the money from the $4.00 permit in its own account, but instead they have to send the money to Lincoln to Commission headquarters where it is divided among all the parks with the most heavily visited parks receiving the largest portions. I’ve done some checking and it would appear that similar facilities in the National Park Service charge a similar vehicle permit fee but then each occupant of the vehicle pays somewhere around $8.00 each time they visit a park.  While the Nebraska Park Permit system may work well for the recreational parks, I don’t believe it is a realistic fee for museums like Fort Hartsuff, Fort Atkinson or Buffalo Bill’s Scout's Rest Ranch.
The problem as I see it, is twofold. The first problem is that the Unicameral dictates to the NGPC the responsibility of caring for these museums and dictates the fees they are allowed to charge. And second is that the NGPC's focus is on hunting, fishing and recreation NOT historical preservation. You can't expect someone trained in boat dock construction to understand the importance of the original glass and paint present in places at the 135 year old Fort Hartsuff. In some ways it's no small wonder that the NGPC treats it's historical parks like illegitimate children that it is saddled with supporting but really doesn't want to claim.
Sorry, I guess I've probably been “"preachin'at the choir". The best thing that GAF members can do is to write the State Senators and the NGPC. I may be wrong, but I believe paper letters work better than e-mails. Tell the Unicameral that there needs to be a change in the way the state historic parks are funded and suggest that these parks are historic jewels that deserve to protected by an agency that is dedicated to caring for them such as the State Historical Society or possibly by a new agency established to run the state museums and Historical parks.

And, as River City John said, signup for the GAF muster. It may be the last time we'll ever be able to hold it here.

[Delmonico]

Good advice Jerry.  The problem with hstoric parks being funded and under the control of the same part as recreational parks has always been a sore spot with a lot of folks.  Same thing with wildlife management areas vs the recreational parks.  The places where folks go that has nothing to do with history or our heratige of hunting gets the most money.

Was talking with some folks in the store this weekend and got a very tongue in cheek remark about Ft. Hartsuff needs a water slide so they don't get funding cut.  And yes it was very tongue in cheek and not the least bit serious.

[Pitspitr]

Or even a camping area....

[Niederlander]

I know I wrote all nine Game and Parks Commissioners and talked to my State Senator, for what good it will do.  After talking with a couple of people in the know, I'm kind of disgusted with the whole mess.  Government bureacracy just seems to always invite incompetence and dishonesty. 

[Texas Lawdog]

Ned, That sounds like a famliar tune indeed!

[Kanza Kurt]

An editorial in today's Lincoln Journal Star regarding Fort Hartsuff.  The word is getting out.  Call Game and Parks and take action.

http://journalstar.com/articles/2009/06/25/opinion/columns/doc4a42e00addcf5301602251.txt

Kanza Kurt

[Mustang Gregg]

I will be contacting the Legislators that I regularly talk to this coming weekend.

SAVE FORT HARTSUFF!
It's worth it.  Mahoney can make it on tourist dollar$ or fail.  No great loss.

MG

[Texas Lawdog]

That was a good article, hopefully it will get the ball rolling. I e-mailed the Parks and Game myself this week about the preservation of Fort Harstuff and Rock Creek Station.

[Delmonico]

That was a good article, hopefully it will get the ball rolling. I e-mailed the Parks and Game myself this week about the preservation of Fort Harstuff and Rock Creek Station.

Thank You all, I've sent letters.  Tex, all of us at RCS the other weekend helped them out a whole lot.