Dedication Time Change For George Lomas Memorial Ceremony

Originally published December 2016 · p. 7

GETTYSBURG, PA.—The Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association has changed the time for the dedication of a stone marker in memory of George Lomas at the Historic Daniel Lady Farm on Sunday, November 20. The ceremony in the farm’s Memorial Garden has been moved up one hour to noon that day, part of Remembrance Day weekend in Gettysburg. GBPA President Barb Mowery said the time change is being made so that attendees will have enough time to attend morning religious services. Additionally, the shift will provide more time for those staying in local hotels for the weekend to check out before the dedication. Lomas, a member of the GBPA Board of Directors, passed away in September at age 74. He was widely known as one of the founders and operators of the Gettysburg Anniversary Committee, sponsors of the annual Battle of Gettysburg reenactments. Regarded by many as the ‘Patriarch of Reenactors and Sutlers,’ in 1967 George and his brother Eugene founded The Regimental Quartermaster, which grew to become one of the nation’s foremost sutlers for reenactors of the Civil War, the French and Indian War, the American Revolution and the War of 1812. In addition to speakers and period music during the memorial stone dedication, a cannon salute will fire from a reproduction 10-pounder Parrott rifle Lomas donated to the GBPA in 2013. Light refreshments will be served following the ceremony. Earlier in the Remembrance Day Weekend, at its annual dinner on Friday, November 18, the GBPA will focus on the impact and accomplishments Lomas had on Civil War reenacting and the promotion and preservation of the legacy of Gettysburg in American History. The GBPA banquet will be held at the Dobbin House Tavern in Gettysburg. A social hour reception will start at 6 p.m. with dinner beginning at 6:45 p.m. The evening’s program will start at 7:45 p.m. Period music will be provided during the social hour by the BSA Venture Crew 1861 Fife and Drum Corps. The Boy Scout unit, sponsored by the GBPA, portrays the musicians of the 1st Pennsylvania Volunteer Reserve Corps. Tickets for the GBPA dinner are $35 per person or $60 for a couple. Reservations can be made by calling Diana Forgett at 240-469-8642 or by email at ditop64@msn. Tickets also will be available at the door. The Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association is a 501c3 nonprofit organization under the Internal Revenue Code and is registered as a charitable organization with the Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations. Contributions are tax deductible. Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association was founded in 1959 and is the nation’s oldest battlefield preservation organization P.O. Box 4087, Gettysburg, PA 17325.