Myron B. Pitts: When Bob Dole came to Fayetteville

Former U.S. Senator Bob Dole visited Fayetteville many times.

It should come as no surprise since he was a decorated veteran wounded in World War II, and Fayetteville is the home of Fort Bragg and Pope Army Airfield. He was at home here.

Dole, a Kansas native, was an influential Senate Majority Leader who ran for president as head of the Republican ticket in 1996. Dole was also widely considered a decent man. He died on Sunday at age 98.

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It probably also comes as no surprise that The Fayetteville Observer covered Dole whenever he came. In our line of work, you won’t get rich — but you do often get an opportunity to see high-profile politicians in person, including presidents and those who would be president.

In 1997, Observer employees got an even closer look than is typical.

The previous November, Dole, a Republican, had just lost a bruising election to Democratic President Bill Clinton. In early April, Dole, who had retired from politics, was in Fayetteville to visit a nephew who was ill and was being treated at Southeastern Rehabilitation Center at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center.

Before he came to the newspaper, Dole had spent 90 minutes at the hospital, according to then-staff writer Virginia Ann White. People lined up to meet the recent presidential candidate, who had carried North Carolina.

"The people of Fayetteville are very friendly,” he said at the time.

Dole had lunch at Highland Country Club with his nephew’s wife and daughter.

Mac Tyson, a Cumberland County commissioner and Dole’s escort in town, brought Dole to an impromptu stop at the newspaper’s offices on Whitfield Street.

I did not start at the Observer until July of that year, so I missed Dole’s visit. I do remember seeing somewhere around the office a picture of him posing with Observer employees.

The picture was taken by Chris Hondros, who would later become an internationally celebrated war photographer and Pulitzer Prize nominee. Hondros was killed in 2011 in a war zone in Libya.

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The photo has some sentimental value for our team here, but unfortunately, we could not find the film in our archives.

We do have many other pictures of Dole’s visits to the city — some of which are included here.

In my career, I have covered many notable politicians from President Barack Obama to Sen. John McCain to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Donald Trump.

Still, I would have liked to have met Robert Dole. Sounds like he had a good visit at the Observer.

Opinion Editor Myron B. Pitts can be reached at mpitts@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3559.

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This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Myron B. Pitts: Presidential candidate Bob Dole visits Fayetteville