GDG- Lady Farm blood investigator to speak at GBPA banquet

[thepurd at comcast.net]

Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association
PO Box 4087
986 Hanover Road
Gettysburg, PA  17325
Contact: Kathi Schue, GBPA President, (717) 566-3331

Blood stain investigator headlines annual GBPA dinner

            GETTYSBURG, Nov. 1 – The detective studying the bloodstains left by Confederate wounded and dying on the wood floors of the Daniel Lady farmhouse will be the keynote speaker at the annual membership banquet of the Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association on November 17 at the Dobbin House in Gettysburg. Ticket to the event are still avalialbe.
            This past summer, Detective Lt. Nicholas Paonessa of the Niagara Falls (N.Y.) Police Department conducted the study on his own time both out of historic curiosity and to find out if a new type of blood luminescent would work on a death scene as old as the Lady Farm.
The house and barn on the Lady Farm were used as Confederate field hospitals during the Battle of Gettysburg 143 years ago.
            Among his findings, Paonessa located where blood had pooled at one spot, another location where bloody rags of discarded uniforms had been piled in a corner and where wounded soldiers had placed their hands on the floor to lean back against the wall. 
            Due to time constraints, the lieutenant was able to investigate only a small portion of the apparent blood stains, but will return soon to conduct more tests. 
            Many of the bloodstains are still visible to the naked eye.
            On Sunday, Nov. 19, the Lady Farm will be open to public tours from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
            The GBPA dinner will begin at 7 p.m. with a cash bar from 6-7 p.m. Period banjo and fiddle music will be provided by Charlie Zahm and Tad the Fiddler. Additional features will include a silent auction and raffle drawings. The cost is $30.  Reservations can be made up to Nov. 14 by calling (717) 566-3331.  GBPA has a web site: www.gbpa.org.  The association is a registered 501 3 C non-profit organization. 
            The GBPA has a number of projects in their final stages, including the completion of the interior restoration of the stone Lady farmhouse, portions of which date back to the 1820s.
            On December 9, the newly-restored residence will present a living history as part of the Inns of Gettysburg annual Christmas Tour.  The farmhouse will be presented not as an inn  but as a community building along with the GAR building downtown.  The house will be open from Noon to 5 p.m.  Further information on the tour can be obtained by calling 717-337-9508 or going to the www.gettysburgbedandbreakfast.com web site or the GBPA web site.
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