Summer maintenance closure...

Dreaming of autumn...

Greetings all!


Just a reminder that we will be closing for our annual summer maintenance August 22nd-September 5. We will reopen at 9 a.m. on September 6.


Thanks to all of our supporters who have continued to visit despite this bewildering heat. We are so grateful for you!


See you in September!

Upcoming closure...

Just a reminder, we will be closed from August 23-September 6 for annual summer maintenance. We use this time to help keep the site looking great for y'all!

Projects on tap for this closure include: mowing, weedeating, cleaning, laundry, deadlimbing, new post and cable down Log Cabin Village Lane, and MORE!

I, personally, will be using a lot of the time to work on our hands-on cabin. Look for new "food" items, activities, pump gaskets, and more! After three years in operation, the hands-on cabin needs freshening up a bit...

I also plan to finalize some of our fall/winter programming plans. We hope that you'll be excited about the events we plan to offer!

So we may be closed to visitors during this time, but we will certainly be abuzz with activity! Stay tuned...

Reminder: many City offices and facilities closed on Friday

As a reminder, Log Cabin Village will be closed on Friday, April 2, due to City of Fort Worth budget cuts/furlough. You can find out more information about the furlough closures here...

Upcoming Maintenance Closure...

Log Cabin Village will be closed for maintenance Monday, January 25, through Monday, February 8. We reopen at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, February 9.

We apologize for any inconvenience!

Be sure to keep up with our exciting maintenance projects right here on the blog! Photos will be posted as progress is made. Stay tuned!

Furlough and Holiday closure...

Hello Village People!

This is just a reminder that due to City of Fort Worth budget cuts, Log Cabin Village and most City facilities will be closed for furlough on Thursday, December 24th. In addition, the Village will be closed December 25th through January 1st. We will reopen at 1 p.m. on Saturday, January 2nd. We apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to serving you in 2010!

More furlough information...

Happy holidays!

Thanksgiving closure...

Greetings! We just wanted to let you know that we will be closed Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, November 25-27. We will reopen at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 28.

More information:

Our office is closed for furlough on Wednesday, November 25, due to budget cuts. Fort Worth City Hall, Municipal Courts and most city buildings will be closed. Also, November 26 and 27 are city holidays and most city offices and services will remain closed on those days. Offices will reopen and services will return to normal on Monday, November 30.

To see a list of offices, services and programs that are operating November 25, 26 and 27 visit

www.FortWorthGov.org or call 817-392-CALL (2255).

Happy Thanksgiving!!! And in case you need it, here's a recipe from 1883...

City of Fort Worth Furlough Days/Log Cabin Village closures...

City Offices Closed for Oct. 12 Furlough Day

The FY2010 adopted budget closes a $59 million shortfall by increasing fees and revenues, cutting back on some city services and reducing personnel cost. One of the strategies implemented to reduce personnel costs are furlough days. A furlough day is a day off without pay.

The first furlough day will be Monday, Oct. 12. As a result of the furlough day, some city services and programs will be unavailable. Fort Worth Municipal Building (City Hall), Marshall Public Safety Building (Municipal Courts) and most city buildings will be closed.

Open/Services As Usual
Fire emergency services
Police services
Weekly trash, recycling, yard waste and bulky item pickup
Alliance, Meacham and Spinks airports
Water Call Center: Payments can be made online or by phone.817-FW-24-HRS (392-4477)
Fort Worth Convention Center and Will Rogers Memorial Center
Golf courses, Fort Worth Botanic Garden, Fort Worth Herd, McLeland Tennis Center, Fort Worth Zoo, Fort Worth Water Gardens (water features will not be operating)

City Call Center:
City Switchboard: 817-392-CALL (2255)
Environmental Management: 817-392-EASY (3279)
Code Compliance: 817-392-1234
Animal Care and Control: 817-392-3737
Transportation/Public Works: 817-392-8100

Operating on Alternate Schedule
All libraries will be closed Oct. 12. The three libraries that are normally closed on Mondays — Northside Branch, BOLD (Butler Outreach Library Division) and COOL (Cavile Outreach Opportunity Library) — will be closed for their furlough day on Saturday, Oct. 10.
On furlough days: No library materials will be due.

Please note:

As a City facility, Log Cabin Village will be closed in observance of all furlough days. Upcoming dates include:

Monday, October 12, 2009

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Monday, February 15, 2010

Friday, April 2, 2010

Friday, May 28, 2010

Friday, July 2, 2010

Friday, September 3, 2010

A tale of two weeks...

It was the best of times...it was the worst of times. It was two weeks of productivity for Log Cabin Village. Some of the time was hot, other days were, well, less hot. But this one truth remains: we look GREAT and ready to greet our visitors when we re-open on Tuesday, September 8th (9:00 a.m. sharp, y'all. 8:59 a.m. if y'all line up at the gate, hint hint).

Here are some "before" and "after" shots of various projects we completed during the closure (with a little help from our friends). This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it's impressive nevertheless.

The Foster House "lean-to" before being re-sided (with Village Director, Kelli as a bonus)

The lean-to AFTER. New shutters, new lease on life. Those windows are where all the behind-the-scenes magic happens, folks. I'm typing from there as we speak.

The dirt blacksmith shop floor before...

The dirt floor now partially on the OUTSIDE of the structure...

The beauteous brick floor AFTER! Note the awesome herringbone pattern...

Our employee break room before being painted...

Again...

I don't really have a good AFTER shot here. Just imagine this room much whiter and scuff-free.

Broken pump parts before...can you guess which one is the faulty plunger assembly?

Our glorious pump AFTER! Kelli's there again--she's like the "Where's Waldo?" of Log Cabin Village. :) Please also note the new brick pad under the pump...

And I don't have a before photo of this little gem, simply referred to as "The Cat's House." Imagine a wee little cabin in disrepair with random rotting boards and nails sticking out... It was originally located behind the Foster House, and it has always been a visitor favorite (even though our snooty cats refuse to use it). Now it has a new lease on life and has been relocated behind the Seela hands-on cabin. Fabulous!

We have, of course had various other projects taking place during the closure: new clothes, laundry, organization of craft and education supplies, cleaning of cabins, , signs, trash-cans, and benches, collections inventory and care, tree-trimming, tour prep, mail-outs, supply orders, reservations...the list goes on and on.

And next week, when the gates swing open and once again little (and BIG) footsteps of our delightful visitors anxiously pitter pat past our door to go see the cabins and our historical interpreters, we'll be reminded of why this was all done.

And why it was all worth it.

Bricks and paint and lumber, oh my!

We are officially in day two of our summer maintenance closure, yet the Village is abuzz with activity! The Foster house lean-to (which houses the staff break room and offices) is being re-sided, the break room is being painted, the blacksmith shop is getting a brick floor (using authentic historic Camp Bowie brick), and brick is being laid under the pump at the Seela hands-on cabin. We are going to look SO GOOD for y'all when we re-open on September 8th!

Check us out so far...

Upcoming maintenance reminder...

Hello faithful blog readers!

Just a quick note to remind you that we will be closed August 24th through September 7th for our annual summer maintenance. We have numerous projects in the works (some more exciting than others), but I'll be sure to keep y'all posted as they are completed!

Thank you for your patience with the closure. These times help ensure that we make Log Cabin Village the very best it can be!

We look forward to seeing you the rest of this week and/or in September!

Reminder...

We will be closed on July 4th. You can come see us on the 3rd or the 5th, though!

"Rampin'" it up...

While being closed to the public for a couple of weeks might conjure up images of peace and solitude as we worked feverishly on quiet projects, our closure actually resulted in saws, trenches, hammers, grinders, missiles, and other equipment we cannot even describe (much less name). It was all in the name of progress...but believe us when we say that the sound of 80 3rd graders hopped up on juice boxes and long bus rides will be comparable to crickets gently chirping after the past closure. :) Besides...we missed our visitors.

The closures are important, however, to help us undertake those projects that ARE too noisy and prohibitive for completion during open hours. One such project was rebuilding the ramp at the back of the Foster House.

This ramp is a prime example of how we handle many "modern" amenities: we place rustic-looking complementary facades on contemporary, more permanent structures. The underlying ramp is concrete, but it is carefully concealed beneath a wooden shell that doesn't detract the eye from the cabin.

We are also fortunate, being part of City government, to have skilled crews who custom design our repairs keeping the aesthetics of the site in mind. This is no easy chore for us "modern folk" unaccustomed to life in a log cabin!

Here is a slideshow of the rebuild from start to finish. Please click on any photo within the slideshow to make it larger or to control the speed.

Tales from the closure...

Wow! Things have been humming around here! The ramp behind the Foster House is being completely rebuilt and various other projects are coming to fruition as we approach the "halfway" mark of the closure. We miss hearing the footsteps and laughter of our visitors, but we relish the opportunity to engage in projects that would otherwise prove obtrusive and distracting to patrons.

When the ramp is finished, I will post pictures of the process and the final product. I think y'all will be impressed! And soon we'll be preparing to begin (re)construction on the Howard Cabin! Details will be forthcoming on that project as well.

So what "closure projects" are YOU currently undertaking?

Important reminder--We will be closed for maintenance!

Just wanted to remind everyone that we'll be closed for maintenance from January 26-February 9. We can't wait to see you when we re-open on February 10th!!!

Closure reminders...

Holiday greetings, Log Cabin Villagers!

Just a reminder, we have a couple of closures coming up.

• We will be closed December 25th through January 1st. We will reopen at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, January 2nd.
• We will be closed January 26th through February 9th for maintenance. We will reopen at 9:00 a.m. on February 10th.

Hope this holiday season finds you merry and bright! Best wishes and safe travels...

It's almost time for our summer maintenance!

Just a reminder...Log Cabin Village will be closed from August 25th through September 8th for our annual summer maintenance. This is an important time each year for the Village as it allows us to perform tasks (like inventory and deep cleaning) that just aren't possible when the doors are open!

We look forward to seeing everyone again when we reopen on September 9th!! Happy "end" of the summer, y'all...