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...

The one where we apologize for not posting more...

Hello Blog Cabin Village friends!

So sorry for the lapse between blog posts! We could come up with any number of flimsy excuses for you to explain our absence (i.e. the cabins have been restless, the cats locked us out of our computers, a terrible wave of pioneer flu). The truth is that we've just been busy! It's a good busy, however.

Here are a few of the things percolating right now at Log Cabin Village:

• School tours and walk-in visitation are back in full swing! The Village may be beautiful when it's quiet, but we eagerly anticipate the days when the pitter-pattering of feet fill our halls...
  


• We've been making new friends! We love partnering with other like-minded entities, both local AND far away. We currently have students from the Tarrant County College-Trinity River campus doing some service learning projects for us. These projects range from site and cabin maintenance to shooting video and taking photographs. We also recently hosted Kiddin Around USA, and look forward to a potential upcoming partnership with Performing Arts Fort Worth, Inc. We participated in a great survey administered by Reach Advisors.
  


• We've been enjoying our existing partnerships! The Greater Fort Worth Herb Society has started "waking" the garden up for spring. The Lone Star Leather Crafters will be here next Saturday. The Prairie Dogs (Lone Star Dutch Oven Society), Woodturners of North Texas, and cooper Dan "Five Buckets" Tatum have all signed on for May.
  


• We've been getting great press! We were recently featured in a great article in MomsOutLoud. Some of our winter photos were featured on NBC Channel 5. And we have another project "in the works." We'll fill you in on that one later. :)
  


• We've been making improvements! A new sign is about to be installed for the Howard cabin. The Parker cabin has been re-stabilized. Our tool shed has been rebuilt. And we have new items in our gift shop, including the recently released Fort Worth Parks book and the much sought-after limberjacks!
  


• We've been planning special events! We've got Timber Tales Storytime and Tooling Around next week. More information on those and other upcoming events can be found on our calendar!
  


• We've been using social media! We've been learning about making videos. We've made friends from Dallas to Ireland using Twitter. And we've been continuing great conversations with our fans on Facebook.

There's a lot more, but you probably get the idea by now.

Most importantly, we are ALWAYS striving to provide exciting and meaningful opportunities for our visitors, friends, fans, and Tweeps to "escape the present, and experience the past." We hope you'll continue to support and help us on this journey. We appreciate you!

Something's going on over at the Parkers...

Gather round, Village people, and listen to a story from the winter closure of 2010. It's a story of love, strength, admiration, and finding a firm foundation. It's an allegory for life's turmoil, and the exhiliration found when cries for help can finally be answered.

It's a story about a cabin...the cabin called "the Parker."




Now folks around these parts had been noticing for quite some time that something just didn't seem right about the Parker. She looked a little "low" on some days. Sad, you could say--down in the corners. She didn't have friends to prop her up and give her the firm foundation that would make things square for her again. Oh she was stable enough, all right.




But as much as she tried to hide her dismay, the poor little Parker cabin was coming apart at the seams. She was afraid that people would see right through the cracks in her facade. And more than anything, she just wanted a little support.




One bright sunny day, this little dogtrot cabin's dreams came true.

Some fine friends from the City of Fort Worth's Transportation and Public Works Department heard her cries. They lovingly lifted her from the depths of despair (and dirt) and placed a firm foundation beneath her.




The Parker cabin was able to "pull it together" at last!




She felt solid as a rock! People weren't looking right through her anymore!




And her new friends Ron and Louis sealed the friendship with some chinking.

Now this story is about rectifying outward appearances. But we can all agree, that it is what's inside that ultimately counts.

And the Parker cabin decided to make some changes there as well.

Nothing was wrong with her insides, mind you. But sometimes it's a good idea to make some changes to keep oneself from getting "stale."

And there you have it, folks: the story of a cabin looking for a little "pick-me-up," and the gallant gentlemen who rushed to her aid. We hope you'll come visit the Parker cabin and see the changes for yourself!

Coming soon: the little tool shed who had no backbone...

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!

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!

We reopen tomorrow!!

Our maintenance is almost completed...and we look forward to seeing everyone when we reopen tomorrow (Tuesday, September 9th)! Well...you don't ALL have to come tomorrow. You can come Wednesday. Or even Thursday, if you like. Just come!

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...