Battle of Bushy Run reenactment organizers weigh in on decision to cancel event

PENN TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Nearly two weeks after an EF-1 tornado tore through the Bushy Run Battlefield in Penn Township, organizers announced the annual battle reenactment scheduled for early August has been canceled.

The storm brought wind speeds of nearly 110 mph. Trees were uprooted and branches and limbs were twisted all across the property, which has led to a massive clean-up effort.

“It was pretty overwhelming the first few mornings we were here,” said Manager Matt Adams. “I think a lot of us had the sense of where do we even begin?”

The battlefield has been closed since the tornado, and clean-up started immediately after the storm. But Adams said there’s just too much tree damage.

“We have about 200 acres, at least half of that is forested, and pretty much every section of that forested area took damage to the trees,” he told Channel 11′s Andrew Havranek.

Crews could be seen working on clean-up Monday afternoon. But because there is so much, the battlefield has decided to cancel its annual Bushy Run Battle reenactment.

It’s a real-life reenactment of the battle on this land during the Pontiac War.

“Making the decision is not something that we made lightly,” Adams said.

The board looked at whether or not they could open certain sections of the battlefield, or even hold the reenactment elsewhere.

“It was not something that we didn’t put a ton of thought into,” he said. “We exhausted every other possibility, but at the end of the day we think this is the best move for everybody.”

The goal is to get the battlefield cleaned up and reopen it as soon as possible.

There is no timeframe on when that may happen.

Since the reenactment of the battle is their major fundraiser, the battlefield is asking anyone who might be able to help to donate on their website.

“Are you looking forward to the reenactment next year?” Havranek asked.

“Very much so, yes,” Adams replied.

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