Gettysburg diorama pays visit
A oneof-a-kind exhibit on what many historians believe to be the turning point of the Civil War will be on display next week at the Wellington Community Center.
The Abraham Lincoln and Gettysburg Exhibit was created by Steven Turchyn, who has lived in Wellington since 2012.
At 160 square feet, Turchyn has packed a ton of detail in 1/32nd scale to recount the Battle of Gettysburg, which marks its 155th anniversary July 1-3. The exhibit will be at the community center Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. The community center will be closed for the Fourth of July.
What he calls his “labor of love” took four years to build, beginning in 2001 when Turchyn lived in Seattle. The large display first was shown at the Seattle Center in 2005. The diorama originally was 140 square feet but Turchyn has added to it over the years, including more figures and detail in addition to 20 more square feet. “I’ll look at it and say, ‘This could use one more hat,’” he said, laughing.
The exhibit recounts one of the key moments in the battle: Pickett’s Charge, which resulted in a devastating defeat for the Confederates. To create as accurate a representation as possible, Turchyn focused on The Angle, one area of the massive Gettysburg battlefield. “It was the focus point of Pickett’s Charge,” he said.
Tiny soldiers aim guns and cannons at their opponents, with miniature puffs of smoke indicating shots fired. A key element of The Angle is a stand of trees, which Turchyn painstakingly replicated. “I worked a lot on the landscaping,” he said. “I like to be very exact.”
Turchyn, a self-described “history buff ” whose 9-to-5 job is in information technology, poured hours into the project. Much of his information in crafting the exhibit came from historical documents, including dispatches from people who were at the battle and paintings from the period.
As part of the display, Turchyn includes illustrations of the battle alongside one of Abraham Lincoln delivering the famed Gettysburg Address, which has its 155th anniversary on Nov. 19.
The diorama is about remembering, Turchyn said. “I want people to be able to take in Lincoln’s speech,” he said. “You can’t write a speech like that anymore. It’s so well done.”
Turchyn approached the village about displaying the exhibit, and said having it available for the public to view on the battle’s anniversary is “very meaningful.”
“It’s helping people today appreciate the sacrifices made by our ancestors,” he said.