November 13, 1997



Dear Friends Member,



     THIS IS A SPECIAL LETTER AND WE NEED YOUR RESPONSE.  PLEASE READ 

CAREFULLY THEN TELL US YOUR OPINION!



     We've enclosed information recently made public by the Gettysburg 

National Military Park during the announcement of its selection of a 

proposal and partners for the new Museum/Visitors Center complex at 

Gettysburg. Your Board of Directors voted to send it to you by 1st Class 

mail because of its importance, both to the Friends of the National 

Parks at Gettysburg and the Gettysburg National Military Park.  Please 

give it your most careful and thoughtful consideration and take the time 

to provide us with your input as we're requesting.



     Contrary to some press reports, the Friends of the National Parks 

at Gettysburg has made no decision relative to our ultimate support or 

non-support of the NPS's recently selected proposal.  We are an 

organization of members from across the country working together on 

behalf of the national parks at Gettysburg.  Your Board of Directors 

would not consider making such an important decision without our 

members' input.  The organization is yours, thus the decision on what 

FNPG does or does not support is yours.  We must hear from you in order 

to formulate the official position of the Friends of the National Parks 

at Gettysburg on this issue.



     Friends members' input is very important to the Gettysburg National 

Military Park as well.  FNPG is the only preservation/park support group 

with an official Memorandum of Agreement governing the various facets of 

our relationship with the park.  As such, our opinion carries a lot of 

weight.  But, even if we set aside the fact of the MOA, our mission, ". 

.. . to support, protect and enhance . . . the resources associated with 

the national parks at Gettysburg," remains the same and our work on and 

in behalf of the park will continue.  FNPG has raised and spent many 

thousands of dollars on a myriad of park projects.   We've done more than 

any other preservation group has ever done for the Gettysburg National 

Military Park.  We've had a friendly, and highly successful relationship 

so it's extremely important that the park have our input on this 

critical issue.



     Please read, and re-read, the materials we've provided here.  Then 

use the enclosed response form and reply envelope to give us your 

opinion.  Send your response to us postmarked no later than January 15, 

1998 in order for it to be included in our final tally of member input.  

 We intend to provide the results, and any comments you care to add, to 

the Gettysburg National  Military Park, and to use them to formulate our 

official position on the new Museum/Visitors Center complex.



     Urge your friends to access Friends' web site, http://www.concordia.net/friends/, 

to see the contents of this mailing and other pertinent information we're 

posting about the Museum/Visitors Center complex and give their written 

input to the Gettysburg National Military Park.



     We do want your input and postmarked no later than January 15, 

1998.  Please take the time to carefully study these materials and 

return the response form telling us what you think.



     Thank you.

                                        Sincerely,





                                        Earl J. Coates

                                        President



P.S. If you have questions about the proposed Museum/Visitors Center 

complex which we haven't answered in these materials, please call us at 

717-334-0772, Monday- Friday, 8:30 AM--5:00 PM, or e-mail us at 

FNPG@mail.cvn.net.  Please use Visitors Center as the subject. We'll try 

to answer as promptly as we can.