2025 News

While much of the world debates how artificial intelligence is reshaping the workforce, a group of Adams County Technical Institute (ACTI) students recently proved that some skills can never be replaced by machines. On Oct. 15, 2025, 14 students from ACTI’s Building Trades program traded their textbooks and screens for tools—learning the art and precision of historic craftsmanship required to preserve historic structures like those at the George Spangler Farm & Field Hospital.

The hands-on preservation workshop, hosted by the Historic Preservation Society of Historic Gettysburg-Adams County (HGAC) in partnership with the Gettysburg Foundation, was part of HGAC’s Bonnie Braun Investing in Youth Initiative. The program introduces young people to traditional building trades while cultivating a deeper appreciation for the region’s rich architectural heritage.

Using the farm’s iconic Pennsylvania Bank Barn as their classroom, students rotated through learning stations led by preservation experts. They practiced skills like stone shaping, mortise-and-tenon joinery and hand-hewing logs into timbers—culminating in the collaborative construction of a seven-foot timber frame bent, a tangible and lasting display of their new craftsmanship.

“This was a great opportunity to introduce students to the preservation trade and let them experience a piece of the amazing history of this site,” said David Maclay, vice president of HGAC.

The program not only builds technical know-how, but it also strengthens the connection between youth and the community’s historic fabric. “This partnership provides students with a unique experience at a historic site and furthers the mission of both organizations to preserve Pennsylvania’s magnificent barns,” added Britt Isenberg, vice president for civic and community engagement at the Gettysburg Foundation.

By investing in young hands and curious minds, this partnership ensures that the timeless trades essential to preserving history remain alive for generations to come.