If I could go from Logs to Riches...

Mark your calendars! It's almost time for our May events!

Friday, May 16, 2008: Timber Tales Storytime Log Cabin Village, 2100 Log Cabin Village Lane, Fort Worth. 817.392.5881. http://www.logcabinvillage.org/. 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. $3.00 for participating children, $2.00 for adults. Featured story: Henry Builds a Cabin by D.B. Johnson. Bring your 3-5 year old to the Village for an exciting step back into the world of 1800s Texas! Little "Villagers" can don bonnets, aprons, and vests as they gather 'round to hear stories of days gone by. $3 fee includes a story, fun activities, and a craft. Please call 817-392-6769 to make your reservation (required).

Saturday, May 17, 2008: From Logs to Riches Log Cabin Village, 2100 Log Cabin Village Lane, Fort Worth. 817.392.5881. http://www.logcabinvillage.org/. 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. $3.00 for ages 4-17 and seniors, $3.50 for ages 18 and up, 3 and under free ($2 additional charge to make craft). Can you tell a wickiup from a grass hut? Do you know what “half dovetail notch” means? Have you ever used the phrase “central hall construction”...and meant it? If the answer to any of these questions is “no,” then this day is for you. Learn about the types of homes that Texans built in the 1800s, see log hewing demonstrations, and build your own craft to take home. No reservations required. Cost is regular Village admission plus a $2 craft fee.

Reminders...we need you!

Have you noticed the cool links on the right side of the page? We hope you have...and we hope you'll use them!

If you have visited us recently, please take a moment to complete one of our surveys (either the "Group tour" or "General Visitor"). Your comments help us improve the visitor experience for ALL our patrons.

Also...remember that you can help us out just by shopping! Put that economic stimulus check to good use...and raise money for Log Cabin Village to boot!

Pioneer Times Innovation Awards Grand Prize Winner!

Log Cabin Village and the Log Cabin Heritage Foundation would like to congratulate grand prize winner Angel Escobar!

Every 4th grade class who visits Log Cabin Village is eligible to enter the Pioneer Times Innovation Awards contest. Entrants are instructed to select from one of the following prompts:

· Students may design their own dream log cabin. This cabin can be as creative and contain as many amenities (historical, not modern—No GameCubes or Satellite dishes!) as the student desires. As the students imagine their dream cabin, have them consider what might make their lives easier or be useful in their small home based on their experience at Log Cabin Village.

· Based on what they learned about frontier living during their visit to Log Cabin Village, students may create an invention that would have made life easier in the 19th century. This invention does not need to be completely grounded in reality; the more fanciful the better (i.e. an automatic chalk-picker-upper for the school)! While it is okay for students’ inventions to be something that actually exists, the design MAY NOT exactly duplicate modern devices (i.e. drawing a Maytag washing machine). The design needs to be original!

Angel's innovative "heated floor" design won him $1100 in savings bonds and the respect of all his peers. His entry beat out over 400 other extremely qualified candidates! Great job, Angel!

Ms. Linda Taylor, Angel's homeroom teacher at Chisholm Ridge Elementary, Angel, and Log Cabin Village Director, Kelli Pickard


Angel's prize-winning entry:

"My invention would be a heated floor. You could fill holes that were underground with hot coal or wood. You put the coal under a space in the floor. The floor would be made of slate. Slate is a rock that holds heat. The coal or wood could warm the log cabin floors in the winter. Then in the summer you could put cool water from the river in the hole to cool the slate floors down. That is my 1800s invention. I hope that if the 1800s pioneers were here that they would use it."

"It Belongs in a Museum!" How to donate artifacts to Log Cabin Village

Do you have an heirloom that you feel should be in a museum? Would you like to see an object that you presently own preserved for posterity? If you do, you may consider donating them to Log Cabin Village. From furniture to textiles to tools, the museum is home to many everyday artifacts that provide us with a fascinating glimpse at nineteenth century Texas life.

The museum also has an archival collection of letters, photographs, and other nineteenth century documents. So how did the museum acquire all these wonderful collections? Mostly, through individual donations from individuals and families!

If you do have an object that you would like to donate, first ask yourself these questions:

• Is the object from within the time period the Village interprets (1840 through 1890). Objects dating earlier than 1840 may be appropriate if they were still in use during this time period.


• Is the object relevant to Texas history?


• Does the object have a recorded history or provenance? In other words, can you determine who used it, for how long and for what?


• Is the object in good condition?
  

If you answered yes to all these questions, your object may be a good candidate for donation to the museum! If you would like to discuss the possibility, contact us. The museum will then determine acceptance based on the factors above as well as whether the museum has any foreseeable use for the object, if the museum has excessive objects similar to that one, and whether the museum can properly care for the object. Who knows, that wedding dress that your great-great grandma wore can indeed become a museum piece!

Just like the old days...

A power outage at the Village today afforded us the rare opportunity to show folks what it was really like "back then." The cabins looked much different dimly illuminated by natural light. Our school groups LOVED the experience--they didn't want to leave.

Life without electric light, while annoying at times, is also strangely peaceful.

Here are a couple of videos illustrating the importance of windows and natural light to those living without electricity. Pardon the quality of the video...it's a little rocky (hence the reason I'm an educator, not a filmaker :) )...

The first video is from our Marine School...a place with a lot of windows...

The second is from the Seela hands-on cabin. No window...but a lot of darkness.

Enjoy!


Power outage at Log Cabin Village, Fort Worth, TX--Marine School from logcabinvillage on Vimeo.



Power outage at Log Cabin Village, Fort Worth, TX--Seela hands-on cabin from logcabinvillage on Vimeo.

Sleep tight?

Even though the whole "sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite" saying more than likely doesn't originate with the rope bed, being comfortable certainly did mean that you needed to tighten the ropes now and again.

We have a rope bed here in our hands-on cabin...and today was rope-tightening time! So if you've never understood how a rope bed works...watch and learn...


Tightening the Rope Bed at Log Cabin Village, Fort Worth, TX from logcabinvillage on Vimeo.

Busy weekend!

We've had a lot going on at Log Cabin Village the past few days! We had Timber Tales Preschool Storytime on Friday, "Thyme for a Cure" and our Pioneer Times Innovation Awards Ceremony on Saturday, and Wichita Bob on Sunday! Wow!

Be watching the blog throughout the year for entries from our Innovation Awards winners. Photos and details about Saturday's ceremony are coming soon!!!!

Thanks for your continued support...