Matt Adams is looking forward to his new commute — a three-block walk from his downtown Greensburg residence to the post office on South Pennsylvania Avenue.
Adams has worked about three years as museum manager at Bushy Run Battlefield — the 213-acre Penn Township historical site that played host to a 1763 clash between the British and Native Americans during Pontiac’s War. He will work his last day Jan. 25, starting a new role as a letter carrier Jan. 26.
The job change was prompted by Adams planning for his future, he said.
“To go any further in the museum field, it would probably be something where I’d have to go back and get a graduate degree or go back to school,” he said. “My bachelor’s degree isn’t in history. I actually went to school for computer science. I just always loved history.”
The Altoona native is happy with the work he has been able to do in the historical space.
“I moved here because of this job, and they were all super- welcoming to me,” Adams said. “I’m really grateful for that, and I want to keep hanging out there as much as I can, as a volunteer.”
Rocky road
Adams’ tenure at Bushy Run wasn’t without its challenges.
Just as the historical site felt a semblance of normalcy following the covid-19 pandemic, its annual reenactment was temporarily called off in January 2023.
The state released new guidelines that prohibited living history demonstrations from portraying two opposing sides shooting at each other. State officials told Bushy Run staff the year before it would need to consult with Native American groups before staging its reenactment.
“It was a lot to jump right into,” Adams said. “The ball had been rolling on that whole discussion for a long time before I got there, so I immediately had to try and catch up on everything that was going on. And it was a very complicated, nuanced situation we were in.”
Bushy Run was given the greenlight in March 2023 to host the reenactment in August.
The following year, the reenactment was canceled because of damage the park sustained from a tornado that cut through Penn Township, reaching wind speeds up to 110 mph.
It’s what Adams calls “one of the strangest, most stressful work-related things I’ve ever been involved with.
“There’s no real way to prepare for that kind of thing, so we were just learning as we went every day,” he said. “It was all new to us, but it was certainly memorable. I learned a lot through that process, and I know all the volunteers at Bushy Run did, too.”
The Bushy Run Battlefield Heritage Society could always count on Adams, President Bonnie Ramus said.
“He took care of everything. He was always right there on the spot, stayed over when he had to work late hours,” she said. “He was very reliable — very good at his job.”
Manager: Bushy Run back to ‘doing the things we love’
Adams is confident Bushy Run will be in good hands moving forward.
“I’m glad we’re back to where we can just focus on our mission and doing the things we love doing — bringing folks into the battlefield and into the museum, teaching them about what happened there,” he said.
The Bushy Run Battlefield Heritage Society board will operate the museum until a new manager is hired.
A job description posted on Bushy Run’s website says the position comes with a salary between $40,000 and $50,000 a year. Candidates must have a degree in museum studies, hospitality, business, marketing, communications or history or equivalent work experience, according to the application.
The museum manager handles daily operations at the museum, plans events at the historical site, schedules and works with volunteers, maintains the website, brings in school tours and occasionally writes grants, Ramus said. She is hopeful Bushy Run will find a new museum manager before April.