CityView Magazine

50 | April 2018 damaged masonry and other parts of the park. Much of that has been fixed or is being fixed now. But there were much bigger prob- lems. Some of the steep bluff overlook- ing Cross Creek near Lamon Street fell away, taking portions of the trail with it. Nearby, the bottom was torn off a 30-foot stairway that is part of the trail. ose issues haven't yet been repaired but should be in coming months. Gibson said the Federal Emer- gency Management Agency, which will pay for much of the repair work, has to approve all of the plans before any- thing is done and that has taken time. Other funding will come from the Golden LEAF Foundation while the city will cover the cost of staff time. Harry Shaw grew up in downtown Fayetteville next to Cross Creek. e stream was his playground, providing a place to fish, catch tadpoles, walk along and do battle with other youngsters in the neighborhood. e stream was a constant element of his life, passing by his house, his church and later, the office where he worked. "I felt a real kinship to that creek," he said. People had long talked about creat- ing a trail along the creek's path. As an adult, with experience in business and civic service, including several terms on the City Council, Shaw decided to do what he could to make the idea a reality. He started by going in with a friend to buy a bit of land alongside the creek near what's now Festival Park. Com- bined with city-owned land, it pro- vided a nearly seamless path along the creek between Ray Avenue and Green Street. Shaw later bought out his friend and told the city he would give the land to a nonprofit corporation whose purpose would be to create a Linear Park trail. Over the next dozen years, that cor- Harry and Claire Shaw

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