'A million moving parts': New Bushy Run manager focusing on this year's battle reenactment

Bushy Run Battlefield opens its 2023 season with a history buff who will step back in time as its new manager.

Matt Adams, originally of Altoona, takes on the newly defined role of manager as the Penn Township site enters its visitor season after a rocky series of engagements with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

“We’ve restructured the title,” said Bushy Run Battlefield president Bonnie Ramus. “We’re hoping he will bring in some extra revenue, and we will be able to stay open all year, probably weekends during the winter, and get some new programming.”

Adams replaces facilitator Liz Staab, who was in the role from May until November, Ramus said.

“It’s a little bit more responsibilities, plus we’re making it a salaried position instead of an hourly position,” Ramus said. “It’s a lot more hands-on than it was before.”

Adams comes from a previous role at the Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona, where he worked for two years.

“It’s been a little bit of a change in scenery, but I really am enjoying it so far,” he said. “I’ve been trying to hit the ground running as much as I can. It’s been going really well so far — everyone here is super enthusiastic and really gracious with their time and information.”

An interest in the history of the region made working at Bushy Run appealing to Adams, he said.

“The French and Indian War and Pontiac’s War is basically like a world war that happened in our backyard,” he said. “It’s always been interesting to me how that could happen so close to home, and affect the development of the continent.”

Adams will be responsible for much of the site’s day-to-day operations. In the short term, Adams is focusing on planning for the recently re-approved reenactment.

In March, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission members voted unanimously to allow the Penn Township site to hold the event, which was scheduled for August. A previous rule change would have canceled the event because of concerns about force-on-force reenactments and the portrayal of Native Americans.

“It’s a million moving parts, and it’s complex to try to do that any year,” Adams said. “Everyone’s very aware that we are under the microscope a little bit. You always take these things seriously, but we are being very clear with our volunteers and our reenactors about the kind of attention we are going to be getting, and about everyone being aware of what’s going on, so that no one is feeling blindsided if they are getting certain questions or comments during the reenactment.”

This year, reenactors will need to apply to participate and will be reviewed before they are in front of the public.

“We are just going through every step of the process. We’re walking through what the day is going to look like and seeing where we could potentially run in to problems,” Adams said. “I think it’s good that people are asking questions about the ways that we present history and the way that the public engages with history. I think at the end of the day, raising those questions is going to make us better public historians, better educators and a better battlefield.”