Littlestown resident attracts Black influencers to Gettysburg

After marrying my husband in 2017 and moving to his Littlestown farm, I pondered how best to contribute to the community meaningfully. I joined the Gettysburg Garden Club and served on several boards, notably the Gettysburg Hospital Foundation board, a perfect fit for my health communications background. The more I engaged with people in Gettysburg, the more I considered unique features that would interest Blacks in my professional and social circles. 

At that point, I had an aha moment: to create weekend experiences in Gettysburg for Black women. Most of my friends have demanding jobs; the small-town feel, history, unique businesses, and calm and serenity would be appealing. One group came in August, and another in September 2022. They saw Gettysburg in ways never imagined. Local Black historian Jean Howard Green’s Lincoln Cemetery tour attached contributions to those buried there. The women were also fascinated by their purchases at Lark. Add that experience to lunch at Mason Dixon Distillery and a tour as well as wine sorbet at Adams County Winery. The women left Gettysburg ready to create a buzz in their networks about the best small town in America.

This year, I invited couples. They were here August 25-27 from Pittsburgh, Hanover, Washington, D.C., Alexandria and Fredericksburg, Virginia, and Los Angeles, California. They represented diverse professional sectors. Among them were Judge Dwayne Woodruff, a retired Pittsburgh Steeler and the first player in the history of the NFL to attend law school full-time while still an active player, his wife, Joy, Dr. NaNotchka Chumley, a Los Angeles doctor and author, Eveldora Wheeler, Ph.D., a college professor, and Flo McAfee, who served in the Clinton Administration as a Special Assistant to the President.