Park Service celebrates 100 years
Events include Point Park picnic and battlefield baseball
President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “There is nothing so American as our national parks .... The fundamental idea behind the parks...is that the country belongs to the people, that it is in process of making for the enrichment of the lives of all of us.”
Pulitzer Prize winner Wallace Stegner’s description — “National parks are the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst” — provided the title for film maker Ken Burn’s 2009 documentary film.
Since its start in 1872 with the founding of Yellowstone National Park and the addition in 1891 with Chickamauga and Chattanooga as the first National Battlefield Park, the ever growing number of parks have served as something unique to America and its people.
While the parks have a longer history, the National Park Service this week celebrates its centennial of preservation of the wilderness and history that remain the United States of America.
During the centennial, no admission fees will be charged at any of the facilities which are under NPS supervision.
As part of the nationwide celebration of the NPS, two major events are scheduled for components of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Park. One is a picnic the other a sporting event. National Treasures 2016: Centennial Picnic in the Park — Aug. 25
The Friends of Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park are excited to announce plans for the eighth annual “National Treasures” event. On Thursday, Aug. 25, the iconic gates of Point Park will be thrown open for a casual evening of music, activities, and dinner to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service.
This year’s party at Point Park marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the National Park Service on Aug. 25, 1916, and celebrates the importance of our local national park. From 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., guests will gather atop Lookout Mountain to stroll along the park’s breathtaking paths along the brow, enjoy the music of the Power Players underneath the iconic New York Peace Monument, and toast the centennial of the National Park Service. Chattanooga’s first tourist destination — Umbrella Rock — will again be open for photographs and “selfies.”
“This year’s National Treasures event is even more special as it is occurring on the National Park Service’s Founders Day — the day the agency is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its establishment,” National Treasures Chair Becky Browder notes. “Each year, National Treasures honors our local national park and commemorates the important role it plays in our community but this year we will also celebrate the importance of the agency that manages 407 sites maintaining America’s natural and historic treasures.”
Along with the great music, the Centennial Picnic promises to be an evening of food, fun, and facts about our national parks as guests enjoy “trip around Point Park” to various trivia stations.
Tickets for this fundraising event are $75 per individual or $130 per couple and can be purchased online at friendsofchch.org/shoptickets or by calling by calling 423-648-5623.
This special evening in Point Park only happens once a year and the Friends of the Park invite all National Park Service fans and supporters to attend the
special Centennial Picnic. Vintage Base Ball at Chickamauga Battle — Aug. 27
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park invites the public to attend the fourth local event that celebrates the centennial anniversary of the National Park Service. Teams from the Tennessee Association of Vintage Base Ball will play a special doubleheader in the recreation field at Chickamauga Battlefield on Saturday, Aug. 27.
Follow the “Special Event” signs to the field for designated parking. Visitors can bring a lawn chair, a blanket, a picnic lunch (or purchase lunch from a vendor on-site) and step back in time to the 1860s to watch America’s national pastime as it was originally played.
Kids will have opportunities to participate in other vintage games from the 1860s as well.
At noon, the Highland Rim Distillers will play the Mountain City of Chattanooga and at 2:30 p.m. Phoenix of East Nashville plays Lightfoot of Chattanooga.
For more information about upcoming programs at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park call the Lookout Mountain Visitor Center at 423-821-7786 or the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center at 706-866-9241.