Gettysburg's Daniel Lady Farm Hosts Filmmakers
By Kathryn Jorgensen December '01 issue

GETTYSBURG, Pa. - The site is Little Round Top, Manassas, Fredericksburg, Franklin and Chickamauga all rolled into one - it's the Daniel Lady Farm outside Gettysburg where Greystone Communications has been filming scenes for the History Channel documentary series "Civil War Combat."

"We've got this perfect place," says Kathi Schue, board member of the Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association (GBPA) which bought the historic 140-acre farm two years ago.

And thanks to Greystone the farm is becoming more perfect. The company mowed fields and cleared and cleaned out around a pond to open up shoot sites, and their rental payments help GBPA pay off the $400,000 mortgage,
Schue, who has not had previous film experience, says, "We've been having a lot of fun, but there's a lot of tough work for a movie shoot."

By the end of the November Greystone will have been on site for five shoots. The filming takes five days, with crew arriving the preceding weekend to get ready.

The series is produced by Seth Isler. Schue says the Franklin and Little Round Top series were directed by Bob Wise, Chickamauga by Brad Graham and First Manassas by Darryl Rehr. Part of Fredericksburg, directed by Wise, was filmed the week of Nov. 12.

"They've just been great," says Schue who describes her mission as preservation of the farm. She enthusiastically describes other improvements to the property such as an implement shed turned into a commissary, saving the pro-duction company from having to erect tents.

She tells about the prop house for the Franklin scenarios that looked so real from a distance that alert zoning enforcement officials stopped by, thinking they had spotted a violation.

With the farm having all kinds of terrain, including the same type of rocks as at Little Round Top, Schue foresees great things in the farm's future as a film site.

Also filming there is Luminence Films, the documentary unit of Rob Child & Assoc. Inc. He is a television director whose 18 years in the business include "Emeril Live," "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," "The People's Court" and other national programs.

The final scene for Child's "Gettysburg, The Boys in Blue & Gray" was recently filmed at the Lady Farm. This scene was the "Council of War" when Federal generals met the night of July 2, 1863. Earlier they filmed Longstreet's arrival at Gettysburg and General Meade's confrontation with General Sickles in the Peach Orchard.

Child says full battle scenes, including the defense of Little Round Top, were shot at Walnut Mountain in New York, while other scenes were filmed on the Gettysburg battlefield. The cast for his docudrama which is based on experiences of common soldiers includes living historians Ben Black, Ron Hawkins, Mike Riely, Dave Valuska, Bruce Stocking, Andy Waskie, Chris Norrel and Ray Pickett as the key military personalities.

Child expects the film and CD of the original soundtrack to be released in February. The second film in his project is "Spirits of Gettysburg, Haunted Fields of Glory," in which Gettysburg ghost author Mark Nesbitt investigates the battlefield with "sensitive" Cathe Curtis.

Schue says that the Greystone episodes are filmed with a core of 30-40 men who change uniforms. Tom Marracino, a reenactor who is the farm's live-in caretaker, had 11 uniform changes one day. On weekends the artillery and specialty actors come in.

When filming is underway the farm sees a lot of activity. Volunteers cook breakfast and dinner, sometimes for as many as 70 people, so that time is not lost with people leaving the site. Schue says they are able to provide special diet needs and GBPA is paid for providing the catering.

Schue made her movie debut as a civilian in the First Manassas shoot. Her 7-year-old granddaughter also was filmed and was on camera in the Franklin sequence, bringing cookies to the generals whose interior scenes were filmed at Gettysburg's Schriver House.

While the Daniel Lady Farm is not open for general tourists, special group tours can be arranged through Schue. GBPA's headquarters is in the farmhouse where a restored parlor was used for some Greystone interior shots.

Being a film site "is one of the greatest ways to help preservation that I have found," says Schue. And she should know. She is legislative assistant for Pennsylvania Rep. Harry A. Readshaw who launched the Gettysburg Monument Project in 1997 to raise funds to restore the state's 111 monuments at Gettysburg Battlefield. Their work includes an annual April Monument Challenge race and walk based at the farm. "Harry loves the farm," she says.

Thanks to a state preservation grant for which Readshaw and State Sen. Terry Punt can take credit, the farmhouse will be getting a new $34,000 authentic, fireproof cedar shingle roof. Two beams that took a cannon projectile hit will be left as they are.

The GBPA is raising money to pay the mortgage by selling plots of the farm for minimum donations of $25. Donations may be mailed to 986 Hanover Rd., Gettysburg PA 17325. For information about the farm and fund-raising contact Schue by e-mail at gettysburg@pahouse.net or call (717) 783-0411. Messages may be left at (717) 337-0031.