When I was interviewing lifelong Sharpsburg resident Earl Roulette for America's Civil War magazine he shared much of his collection, or accumulation, of Civil War artifacts with me and editor Dana Shoaf.
The thing that caught our attention as soon as we walked into Earl's back door was his pencil holder - an original artillery waterbucket.
Earl said that he never set out to collect Antietam artifacts they simply turned up under his plow as he cultivated his extensive Sharpsburg farm.
"I must have climbed down off that tractor a thousand times" laughed Earl as we pawed through an old artillery projectile crate loaded with formerly lethal pieces of iron.
Even more fascinating than his collection was the conversation. Mr Roulette is a walking compendium of the history of the battle, the valley, and the town. He gets regular visits from authors, historians, and even just regular people (with steady jobs).
He's one of Sharpsburg's living treasures.
Ranger Mannie
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