Gettysburg native Brian A. Kennell is the ninth superintendent in the history of Evergreen Cemetery. At the age of thirteen, Brian moved into the historic Evergreen Cemetery Gatehouse in 1976 and has lived there as an adult since 1990. He has been employed by the cemetery association since 1978 and succeeded his father, Arthur L. Kennell, as superintendent in 1991. He has served as president of both Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Adams County and the Gettysburg Civil War Women’s Memorial Association. He is the author of the book Beyond The Gatehouse: Gettysburg’s Evergreen Cemetery. As a singer/songwriter/producer, Brian has performed and recorded for over 30 years and has worked with Grammy-winning artists and notable musicians while recording/producing in Nashville since 2009. His future projects include a revised Beyond the Gatehouse book (2026) and documentary on Evergreen Cemetery’s history.

Christopher Oakley is a professor of New Media at the University of North Carolina Asheville, where he teaches popular classes in animation technique and the history of animation. Christopher is also a seasoned stop-motion and computer animator and director, with credits at the Walt Disney Company and DreamWorks Animation, and animation and directing work for Pee-wee’s Playhouse and EA Games. Prior to film and game work, Christopher worked on national television commercials including Bud Bowls I & 2, the Pillsbury Doughboy, the California Raisins, Hershey’s Kisses, Kellogg’s Froot Loops, and JC Penney. Christopher’s interest in Abraham Lincoln began at the age of five. His ground-breaking research into Lincoln at Gettysburg has been featured in Smithsonian Magazine and on the front page of the New York Times. This is Christopher’s first children’s book.