Press Room Story Ideas

BASEBALL HISTORY MADE HERE!

Babe Ruth slugged his first homerun as a professional baseball player during an intra-squad exhibition game in Fayetteville. Orioles manager Jack Dunn had recently signed young George Herman Ruth (soon to be dubbed "The Babe") as a pitcher. According to local historian Maurice Fleishman, who was a bat boy during the infamous game, 'the ball was hit so far that Ruth was able to trot slowly around the bases before it was retrieved.'

Jim Thorpe, Olympic medalist and football and baseball great is said to have hit his first professional homerun in Fayetteville, too. Thorpe played baseball in Fayetteville in the Eastern Carolina League in the 1909-1910 season. One of his homers held the local distance record until The Babe's home run on March 7, 1914.

The legend of baseball's most famous one-game wonder began in Fayetteville. Archibald "Moonlight" Graham, made famous from the movie "Field of Dreams" spent the first 12 years of his life in Fayetteville. Few people know that he was a living, breathing country doctor who played one inning in the major leagues.

HONORING AMERICA'S HEROES

Rich in history and tradition, Fayetteville offers the perfect place to pay tribute to our country's active duty soldiers and veterans. We call these heroes neighbor. The Airborne & Special Operations Museum, one of the top 20 public attractions in NC, is the only place to see, hear and experience this comprehensive history of the U.S. Army Airborne from Test platoon to present day. Just across the street, Freedom Memorial Park honors local soldiers from WWI, WWII, Vietnam and the Korean War. Various sites and museums on Fort Bragg further highlight this history.'

CAPE FEAR RIVER TRAIL LINKS FAYETTEVILLE TO THE EAST COAST GREENWAY

Currently in development along the east coast, the East Coast Greenway will be the nation's first long-distance, city-to-city, multi-modal transportation corridor for cyclists, hikers, and other non-motorized users. The trail will run from Maine to Florida. The goal of the greenway is to connect existing and planned trails that are locally owned and managed to form a continuous, safe, green route -- easily identified by the public through signage, maps, users guides, and common services. It is being developed as an urban alternative to the Appalachian Trail.

The Fayetteville area's portion of the Greenway, the 3.7-mile paved Cape Fear River Trail, offers views of a pond and a waterfall, glimpses of the Cape Fear River and a chance to stroll through nature. A second phase of the Cape Fear River Trail will connect Clark Park to the Cape Fear Botanical Garden. "The Cape Fear River Trail will give people a chance to see and appreciate this region's most underused resource, the Cape Fear River," says Robert Barefoot, Chief Executive Officer, Engineering & Maintenance, City of Fayetteville.

www.greenway.org

WORLD CLASS GOLF

Located in the rolling Sandhills of eastern North Carolina, area courses boast the well-known names of famous course architects like Davis Love III, Ellis Maples, Gene Hamm and Willard Byrd. Only minutes from the golf mecca of Pinehurst, the Fayetteville area offers the same rolling fairways and soft white native sand that have made golfing in the Sandhills so popular. Best of all, Fayetteville area courses are relaxed and un-crowded for totally enjoyable play!

For Information on Golf Packages, Click HERE.

A CITY OF FIRSTS!

A number of noteworthy firsts happened in Fayetteville and Cumberland County.

1789 - The UNC System, the oldest state University in the US, is chartered in Fayetteville; North Carolina's first printing press is built in Fayetteville.
1793 - George Washington charters the Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry, the oldest militia unit in continuous existence in the south.
1831 - North Carolina's oldest Catholic Church ~ St. Patrick Church ~ is chartered.
1914 - George Herman "Babe" Ruth hits his first homerun as a professional baseball player in Fayetteville.
1918 - Camp Bragg, which today houses some of the most elite soldiers in the world as Fort Bragg, is established as a U.S. Field Artillery Training Center.
2000 - The Airborne & Special Operations Museum, the only facility that tells the comprehensive history of the U.S. Army Airborne from test platoon to present day, opens in downtown Fayetteville.

WHERE FAYETTEVILLE TOOK ROOT, A GARDEN NOW GROWS

From the sculpture-like starkness of the winter forest to the colorful masses of summer flowers, the Cape Fear Botanical Garden is beautiful year round!

Located on 85 acres where Cross Creek meets the Cape Fear River, the CFBG is located on the spot where Fayetteville's first settlers built their homes. It features a large urban forest with nature trails, a natural amphitheater, steep ravines sheltering unusual plants, and a variety of terrain from open pine forest to lush riverbank. Its many specialty gardens offer inspiration for those seeking ideas for their own gardens as well as providing a lovely backdrop for a weekend stroll.

The Children's Garden currently includes two gardens, and more are planned. The Friendship Garden is a testament to the Fayetteville region's diversity. It is formed in the shape of a heart and has seven beds, each representing one of the world's seven continents. The plants in each bed first grew on the continent represented. Many of these plants are known to these people around the world for their beauty and helpful uses. The Lilliput Labyrinth is based on the tale of Gulliver's Travels. The items Gulliver left behind are giant-sized, underscoring the garden's theme of contrasting the immense with the miniature. Must see sculptures are a 15' swing, a 5' pair of eyeglasses, and a 17' chair.

www.capefearbg.org