Kirby takes reigns at park today
Bob Kirby
BY SCOT ANDREW PITZER
Times Staff Writer
Published: Monday, March 1, 2010 7:36 AM EST
Thirty-six year National Park Service veteran Bob Kirby takes over today as the new superintendent at Gettysburg National Military Park.
Kirby replaces former battlefield boss John Latschar, who was demoted to a desk job in Maryland last year.
Previously, Kirby served as superintendent at Petersburg National Battlefield in Virginia. He led that park for about a decade, before being named the battlefield boss at Gettysburg in January. He called his new position “a tremendous challenge,” noting that Gettysburg is the most famous Civil War site in America.
“It’s an icon park,” Kirby told the Petersburg Progress-Index. “It’s a huge honor to be asked to be superintendent of a nationally significant cultural resource.”
He noted that the “scale of operations is bigger” in Gettysburg, with more than 80 full-time staffers and seasonal employees compared to roughly 35 full-time employees in Virginia. Kirby is now responsible for running the daily operations of the 6,000 acre park and the Eisenhower National Historic Site.
He’ll also work closely with the park’s nonprofit fundraising and management partner, the Gettysburg Foundation, and oversee the new $103 million Battlefield Visitor Center. The Petersburg park is not involved in a private-public partnership.
National Park Service Northeast Regional Director Dennis Reidenbach described Kirby as a “seasoned veteran who combines demonstrated leadership skills with experience.” With the 150th anniversary of the Civil War approaching, Reidenbach added that “Bob is the right individual to oversee both the best known Civil War park in the national park system, and to manage a significant presidential site.”
Catoctin Mountain Park Supt. Mel Poole had been serving as interim superintendent in Gettysburg, in the past few months since Latschar’s reassignment. He is returning to his position in Maryland, effective today.
In the past, Kirby served as assistant superintendent at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and “chief of interpretation” at Lowell (Mass.) National Historic Park. He was an environmental protection specialist for the Defense Logistics Agency in Ogden, Utah; outdoor recreation director with the Department of the Army in West Germany; and held several positions at Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
Kirby is the 11th permanent superintendent since the National Park Service took control of the Gettysburg Battlefield in 1933. Past superintendents are: James R. McConaghie (1933-1941); J. Walter Coleman (1941-1958); James B. Meyers (1958-1963); Kittridge A. Wing (1963-1966); George F. Emery (1966-1970); Jerry L. Schober (1970-1974); John R. Earnst (1974-1988); Daniel A. Kuehn (1988-1989); Jose A. Cisneros (1990-1994); John Latschar (1994-2010); and James Robert “Bob” Kirby (2010).
Kirby replaces former battlefield boss John Latschar, who was demoted to a desk job in Maryland last year.
Previously, Kirby served as superintendent at Petersburg National Battlefield in Virginia. He led that park for about a decade, before being named the battlefield boss at Gettysburg in January. He called his new position “a tremendous challenge,” noting that Gettysburg is the most famous Civil War site in America.
“It’s an icon park,” Kirby told the Petersburg Progress-Index. “It’s a huge honor to be asked to be superintendent of a nationally significant cultural resource.”
He noted that the “scale of operations is bigger” in Gettysburg, with more than 80 full-time staffers and seasonal employees compared to roughly 35 full-time employees in Virginia. Kirby is now responsible for running the daily operations of the 6,000 acre park and the Eisenhower National Historic Site.
He’ll also work closely with the park’s nonprofit fundraising and management partner, the Gettysburg Foundation, and oversee the new $103 million Battlefield Visitor Center. The Petersburg park is not involved in a private-public partnership.
National Park Service Northeast Regional Director Dennis Reidenbach described Kirby as a “seasoned veteran who combines demonstrated leadership skills with experience.” With the 150th anniversary of the Civil War approaching, Reidenbach added that “Bob is the right individual to oversee both the best known Civil War park in the national park system, and to manage a significant presidential site.”
Catoctin Mountain Park Supt. Mel Poole had been serving as interim superintendent in Gettysburg, in the past few months since Latschar’s reassignment. He is returning to his position in Maryland, effective today.
In the past, Kirby served as assistant superintendent at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and “chief of interpretation” at Lowell (Mass.) National Historic Park. He was an environmental protection specialist for the Defense Logistics Agency in Ogden, Utah; outdoor recreation director with the Department of the Army in West Germany; and held several positions at Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
Kirby is the 11th permanent superintendent since the National Park Service took control of the Gettysburg Battlefield in 1933. Past superintendents are: James R. McConaghie (1933-1941); J. Walter Coleman (1941-1958); James B. Meyers (1958-1963); Kittridge A. Wing (1963-1966); George F. Emery (1966-1970); Jerry L. Schober (1970-1974); John R. Earnst (1974-1988); Daniel A. Kuehn (1988-1989); Jose A. Cisneros (1990-1994); John Latschar (1994-2010); and James Robert “Bob” Kirby (2010).
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