Ghosts Walks make the Paper Again!

Thunder and lightning tore up the skies above the Seminary Tuesday night forcing us to cancel the walk. Most folks rescheduled for other tours and I went and hung out in the office. We talked about the meeting the other night dealing with the ghost walks and some of the concerns surrounding them. And of course, a reporter from the Hanover Evening Sun was there at the meeting to cover all the action. I don't think that link would last that long so I am not posting one. This wasn't a bad article, but there was a few errors.

I would like to first address a few errors in the article. First, Mark Nesbitt does not own Gettysburg Ghost Tours, rather he owns Ghosts of Gettysburg Candlelight Walking Tours. There is a big difference and as much as Mark has been in the news this mistake should have never happened. Secondly, at no point in time did any of the tour operators agree on limiting the number of people in a group to 20. There was never a set number when it came to group size.

There are so many things with the way that the Borough is handling that could make this a much easier situation! There is so much talk and no action. The biggest problem I have is that companies that operate ghost tours or any walking tour, where you have an amusement license, are NOT required to carry liability insurance. This is absurd! If I open a store, I am required to carry insurance, but if I take groups of people through the streets, I am not. Let's look at this for a second. If someone falls and breaks their leg on the sidewalk, while on a tour with an uninsured company, who are they going to sue? The company, the guide, or the Borough? The company probably isn't making that much money, the guide isn't worth suing, so that leaves the only option where a payout seems realistic. I wonder how quick the Borough would be to act once a lawsuit comes their way.

Another issue that we're facing is the large number of companies that keep popping up. The article stated 13 companies operate ghost tours in Gettysburg. 7 advertise in the Gettysburg experience, the monthly tourist magazine, so I have no idea where the other 6 are hiding. I remember the good old days when we only had two companies!

It is easy to understand why companies keep popping up. There is really no rules or regulations to follow. Anybody, and I literally mean anybody, can get an amusement license as long as they agree to pay a 10% amusement tax on ticket sales. There is no need to buy insurance that would cost roughly $1000 a year or worry about if the guides are giving historically accurate information. So why not? They get a card table, set up on the Square or wherever, sell tickets and generally harass anybody that walks by them prospecting for their walk, guide a tour, take the money home, and pay the tax later. Sweet! Very little overhead, hardly any operating expenses, cash in hand and noone looking over their shoulder. If things go bad, they can fold up their table and move somewhere else. All the Borough gives are guidelines and we wonder why this comes up as a problem.

Here's a few suggestions to help fix this. Make it a requirement that every company carry liability insurance. If a smaller company can't afford it, too bad. This protects everybody, the company, the Borough, and most importantly the visitor!

I would also certify the guides, all of them. Make every guide, outside of the NPS, take a safety course. Even if you have to charge a few bucks for it. This way nobody can use the excuse that they didn't know the rules. Fine the guides that are not certified and the ones breaking the rules. No more crossing the street while not in a crosswalk, standing in front of residential homes and open businesses, and blocking the sidewalk. Hold the guides and the companies accountable when problems arise. I don't think that we need a swat team to police this, but hand out a few $75 fines and watch the guides straighten themselves out. This certification I am referring to here does not deal with historical accuracy, just basic safety regulations.

As far as historical accuracy is concerned, this is impossible to police. The idea of "licensing" the guides was already brought up but it was made inclusive by Main Street Gettysburg and their Licensed Town Guides. This idea is back in the hopper and might come around, but you're never going to make everyone happy no matter what you do when it comes to accuracy of the information the guides give out.

I also suggest that every company have a permanent place of business and a land line phone number. No more card tables and cell phones. I understand that the company I work for got its beginnings with a card table on the square. But that was 12 years ago! The climate has changed. That was a startup idea at the time and is a legitimate business now, force the companies to operate as one! There needs to be a way to get in contact with every company in a consistent manner.

I am not saying that these are the answers to all of the concerns surrounding a growing business that has reached a national scale. But if this is becoming newsworthy, then let's do something about it. I can not see the companies, at least the profitable ones that have been doing this for awhile, opposing any of these changes. Maybe we need to look at the way the NPS handles their Eisenhower tours that take place in town over the summer. I have no idea of what the regulations are for the ranger leading the tour, but there might be something there that can be applied to what we do. It seems like regulations are going to have to be put in place and it is too late to fully enforce any rules that are established in the near future. Let's look to next year and assure every visitor, tour operator, and guide can have a postitive experience.

Sleep well and be safe...

"Rick Saunders"