Gettysburg

In the early 90’s I gave a paper at an international conference in Washington on  replacements for ozone destroyers. This sounds posher than it is although speaking to an audience of hundreds was daunting. The idea was to put forward alternative cleaning methods which did not use chlorofluorocarbons ( known ozone depleters ). Following the Montreal protocol there was a very successful international process to replace ozone depleting chemicals with alternatives.

Castrol had a modest business in  ozone depleters and was anxious to do the right thing and replace them. It happened we had a relationship with a company which made very high pressure water jetting cleaning equipment. For use in cleaning steel components they needed a suitable corrosion inhibitor. Our existing one had some problems( it was essential not to entrain air ) and I put forward an inhibitor used by my metal working fluid colleagues. Fortunately this worked well- I say fortunately as I had no way of testing it as the high pressure was extremely high; many thousands of pounds per square inch.

So the paper I gave wasn’t particularly my work but I was the frontman. It happened that Castrol really had some new technology to show in lubricants compatible with new refrigerants. It was decided to have a stand at the show for this. The meeting was over several days and naturally when I wasn’t speaking I hung out on the stand. I was rather peeved one day when they all went off for lunch and left me holding the fort. I tried to speak with conviction to visitors about something of which I had only sketchy knowledge.

After the conference I travelled from Washington up to the Castrol laboratories which were en route to my departure airport of Newark. This travel was over a weekend so I could see something of the country. Travelling through Pennsylvania I was mildly surprised to overtake an Amish horse drawn buggy.

On my journey I made a small detour to visit the civil war battlefield at Gettysburg. I took the battlefield tour along roads bordered by cannon from the battle. I was very forcibly struck by how even handed everything was between the Union and the Confederacy. The Confederates were battling to retain slavery, the Unionists to abolish it. The battle at Gettysburg was a pivotal victory for the Union although you wouldn’t know it by visiting the site. The Confederacy is held in high esteem even now in the south and clearly there is a wish to pander to southern sentiment.

The site is also famous for Lincoln’s address made some months later to commemorate the dead. For this occasion a famous orator, Edward Everett, spoke for over an hour  while Lincoln added a few short words.. In about 200 words Lincoln famously expressed the democratic ideal concluding “ that we highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth”.

Leaving Gettysburg I stayed overnight in Philadelphia at a hotel on the outskirts. This hotel was by the freeway and I remember going out to local shops and having great difficulty in finding my way back. I could see the hotel but to get back to it. I had to get back on the freeway and off again to retrace my steps.

The next day quite by chance just as I was leaving a city tour bus came into the car park. On impulse I joined the tour which just consisted of myself and a group of middle aged ladies. They were very curious about me and hearing that I was from Oxford, England and had just been to a conference in Washington obviously concluded I was a high powered academic. I basked in their approbation which was completely undeserved.

The tour was very interesting and included the statehouse where congress first met, the Liberty Bell and Betsy Ross’s house. I was gently joshed for not knowing who Betsy Ross was. There is a story ( rubbished by Wikipedia ) that she sewed the first US flag.

When I eventually continued on my journey I passed through Oxford, Pennsylvania stopping to take a few photos ( sadly lost when my camera was stolen in Oxford, England )

I can’t help feeling that the Trump administration could learn some important lessons although equally the Gettysburg exhibition is almost fake news in its pandering to racists