Thankfully, better
National media reports about real estate have been gloom-and-doom for many months now, painting a bleak picture for prospective homesellers and buyers alike.
Texas REALTOR® Michael Scudder thinks those reports should end in three words … “except in Texas.” Scudder, 2008 president of the New Braunfels/Canyon Lake Board of REALTORS®, says the mortgage and housing crises affecting other parts of the country have left Texas nearly unscathed.
“The market (here) is a lot better than many believe.” With low housing prices, low interest rates, high employment levels, and a strong economy, Texas real estate has weathered the national storm fairly well, confirms Brooke Hunt, 2009 chairman of the Texas Association of REALTORS®.
“The national news media likes to talk about what’s happening in New York, Washington D.C., Florida, and L.A. – and they’re probably pretty accurate about what’s going on there,” Scudder says. “But they don’t ever talk about Texas unless we have a hurricane or something. We’re doing pretty well.”
Source: New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung
Friday, December 26, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Christmas in Bedford and Around The World
How to Celebrate Christmas
Christmas is a time of giving, and holiday celebrations during Christmas usually reflect that notion. In many cultures around the world, gifts are exchanged. However, there are a variety of traditions that you can incorporate into your own Christmas celebration to make your family’s celebration both unique and memorable.
In many cultures around the world
gifts are exchanged. However, there are a variety of traditions that you can incorporate into your own Christmas celebration to make your family’s celebration both unique and memorable. In this article, you’ll learn about Western celebrations and traditions, as well as celebrations and traditions from other areas of the world.
Christmas Trees
The Christmas Tree has long been a dominant symbol of the Christmas season.
In New York City at Rockefeller Center, a large Christmas tree is magnificently decorated. In other areas of the world, Christmas trees are also decorated. Concerning Christmas trees, there are two basic options:
Artificial Christmas Trees
Many people who own pets, particularly cats, have allergies, or young children, choose to have an artificial Christmas tree because it is cleaner and environmentally friendly. In today’s eco-friendly world, fake Christmas trees can be used every year, and do not diminish a natural entity. These trees usually are in local stores, and can be easily placed together by following a set of given instructions. Additionally, many artificial Christmas trees now come fully decorated with lights, relieving many from untangling a string of holiday lights each season.
Real Christmas Trees
Many others prefer to buy a real Christmas tree. Often, local towns, cities, and communities have Christmas tree lots that begin sales immediately following Thanksgiving. However, real Christmas trees require a bit more work. They must be watered, and their leaves shed. If cleaning up pine needles and watering a plant are something you and your family do not have the time for, or will not do, a real Christmas tree is probably not for you. However, real Christmas trees add a sense of authenticity to holiday decorations.
Decorating the Tree
is often a family tradition. Many families decorate the tree in the weeks before Christmas, while others do it on Christmas Eve. Christmas tree decorations often include a set of lights, tinsel, garland, ornaments, and/or a popcorn string. Christmas ornaments can be found at local retailers, can be homemade, or can be passed down from generation to generation. Many families receive a new Christmas ornament every year, adding to their collection as the years continue.
Religious Observations
Depending on your religious beliefs, Christmas can also be a religious-oriented holiday. Many families go to mass during the Advent season, which is the forty days leading up to Christmas. During this time, the Christian church explains the stories leading up to the Birth of Jesus. Additionally, Advent Calendars usually count down the days until Christmas, bearing a tiny piece of chocolate and/or candy for each day.
Midnight mass
is another tradition for many families. Often, local churches will hold midnight ceremonies, celebrating the birth of Jesus. In some churches, the mass is said in its original Latin form, while, in others, the music is the highlight. Often, professional string quartets and/or band ensembles are hired to perform. Choruses and musicians also sing and/or play a variety of Christmas songs, such as The First Noel, Silent Night, and O Come All Ye Faithful.
Gifts
Although Christmas is not entirely about gifts, it is the time of year when gifts are both given and received. When shopping for gifts, there are many things to keep in mine, especially if you’re buying for someone who has eclectic tastes. Gifts do not have to be expensive. Often, the best gifts are homemade because they have sentimental value attached to them. If you’re struggling for gift ideas this holiday season, or if you’re wondering how you can create some gift-giving traditions in your family, the following section is for you.
Letters to Santa
If you have children who still believe in Santa Claus, making a list to mail to Santa is a great bonding activity. Encourage them to be creative and color and/or decorate their list in anyway that they want. For a more personalized list, have your children write down one or two reasons why they deserve a gift this year.
Visits with Santa
whether he be in a mall, shopping center, etc. Usually, children can sit on Santa’s lap, tell him what they want for Christmas, and get their pictures taken. Many parents make duplicates and use these pictures for the cover of their Christmas cards.
Christmas Cards
are another great way to send Holiday cheer to friends and family that cannot meet for the holidays. can be bought, signed, decorated, homemade, etc. Many families incorporate a family newsletter in which they explain how their year went for each family member. Others, take a family picture and sign their names at the bottom. Many make a family project out of homemade cards. However, some families more have traditions that are more secretive in nature.
Secret Santas
A Secret Santa can be a great idea for larger families. In a Secret Santa, everyone picks another person’s name out of a hat, with whoever they receive remaining a secret. The individual then buys or makes a gift for the person they chose. Come Christmas, the person and the gift is revealed. This can be a fun game with older children, but younger ones may have issues with keeping a secret.
Yankee Swaps
Often, extended families will gather to and hold a Yankee Swap. Yankee Swaps are usually best conducted in large families. In a Yankee Swap, each family brings a gift. Sometimes, there are themed swamps. For example, a re-gift swap or a homemade gift swap. Once together, each person picks a number out of a hat. Once all the numbers are dolled out to each person who’s participating, number one goes first and chooses a gift. Once he/she is done, number two goes, and so on. However, if the individual does not like the gift he/she chose, he/she can then take someone else’s gift, leaving the person with theirs. The best numbers to receive are numbers one or the last number because these lucky individuals can choose from any gift that they want. While this game can be fun, young children may be upset if a gift is taken away from them in exchange for a less desirous gift, therefore, older children are better participants.
Charity Events
One of the best gift-giving activities to do is to donate a gift to one of the many toy drives for those who are less fortunate. Every year, the Marine Corp holds their Toys for Tots program. In most cases, the toys can be donated at local malls, shopping centers, community centers, stores, etc. Also, the salvation army also asks for holiday donations in the form of spare change. Individuals usually stand outside of stores during the Christmas season. If you want to encourage your children to donate to charity, take them shopping and make it a family project to pick out a toy to donate. If your children are young, have them place the change in the Salvation Army bin so they can feel as though they’re participating too.
Many communities also hold food drives.
Make a day of collecting imperishable foods around your house and donating them. These types of drives are usually done through schools, community centers, grocery stores, and, in smaller communities, door-to-door collections. Giving to others is a great teaching tool for families, especially families with young children.
Outdoor Activities
For families who live in cold climates, winter and Christmas also come with snow. Many families choose to go skiing, ice skating, snowboarding, etc. In today’s society, even playing in snow or making snowmen is a great way to burn off those holiday treats. Usually, local golf courses and parks make great sledding hills. Additionally, hot chocolate is a warm winter treat after you and your family have returned from your outdoor adventures. If you don’t live in an area with snow, you can still partake in outdoor winter activities. One of the most popular is caroling. Families can join with neighbors, friends, and other family members to go door to door singing Christmas songs. Often, others enjoy the holiday cheer. When this is over, you can share a meal with everyone at a local restaurant and/or at someone’s home.
Food
After you’ve worked up an appetite playing in the snow, giving/buying gifts, and caroling, what’s better than to sit down and enjoy a meal with your family? Many families eat the same meal every year on Christmas. In America, many families eat a ham dinner because turkey was eaten the month before. However, many others eat foods pertaining to their particular ethnic backgrounds. Often, the food preparation can be made into a family tradition as well.Christmas cookies are one of the easiest traditions to begin. Because of the wide variety of brands, you and your family can make a various assortment of shapes, flavors, and cookie types. If you have young children, pre-made, packaged dough is the easiest, as it is efficient and less messy. If you want to teach your children more about cooking and measuring, cookies are fun to make from scratch. Recipes can be found through friends and family, cookbooks, the internet, etc.
Holiday parties.
These parties usually occur in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Often, family and friends meet to eat, mingle, talk, and celebrate the holiday season. If you’ve decided to partake in a Secret Santa or Yankee Swap, these holiday parties are often the best places to conduct them in. Additionally, another tradition that can be fun, especially for small children, is a dance party, using a collection of Christmas music. Other families conclude the evening with reading “The Night Before Christmas.” When enjoying the company of friends and family at a holiday party, is fun, remember to be careful.
Alcoholic beverages
When drinking, driving can be dangerous. Remember, drink responsibly, and if someone is too intoxicated to drive, let him/her stay the night.
Traditions Around the World
Because almost every Western, and some Eastern, cultures have Christmas celebrations, Christmas can be a great time to incorporate cultural traditions into your family’s celebrations.
In the following section, you’ll learn a brief overview of Christmas celebrations in Belgium, Mexico, and The Netherlands.
Belgium
The Belgium people celebrate Christmas on December 6th, on a day called Sinterklaas, or Saint Nicholas. Children receive small present under their tree, as well as in their stockings. For Christmas breakfast, families eat a sweet bread called “Cougnou.” Traditionally, this bread is shaped like the baby Jesus, as to commemorate his birth. A larger, family-oriented meal, is had later on in the day.
Mexico
Christmas in Mexico is a two-week long party! Mexicans called Christmas Las Posadas. Often, children reenact how Mary and Joseph looked for rooms in Bethlehem, finally choosing to settle in a barn, where Jesus was born. In the time following this performance, the group moves to a local church, where a piñata party is held. However, because Mexico has separate regions, each region celebrates differently. In some communities, this reenactment carries a more spiritual connotation, while in other communities, more emphasis is given to the Epiphany- or the arrival of the three Kings.
The Netherlands
In the Netherlands as with in Belgium, Santa Claus is referred to as Sinterklaas or Saint Nicholas. One December 6th, families gather for celebration. Children are told that Santa Claus travels from Spain to The Netherlands on December 5th. Dutch children place their shoes outside, filling them with hay and sugar in the same way Santa Claus’s reindeer are left carrots. In the morning, these things are replaced with candies and nuts. Christmas Day is also celebrated on December 25th, and December 26th is considered New Year’s Day. Additionally, Kings Day is celebrated on January 6th.
Whether you and your family adapt any cultural traditions, or create one of your own, Christmas is a holiday that can be as rewarding as it is stressful. Remember that the holiday is centered on giving, especially to those who are less fortunate. There is no right or wrong way to celebrate. Most importantly, enjoy the company of loved ones this Christmas season.
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Christmas is a time of giving, and holiday celebrations during Christmas usually reflect that notion. In many cultures around the world, gifts are exchanged. However, there are a variety of traditions that you can incorporate into your own Christmas celebration to make your family’s celebration both unique and memorable.
In many cultures around the world
gifts are exchanged. However, there are a variety of traditions that you can incorporate into your own Christmas celebration to make your family’s celebration both unique and memorable. In this article, you’ll learn about Western celebrations and traditions, as well as celebrations and traditions from other areas of the world.
Christmas Trees
The Christmas Tree has long been a dominant symbol of the Christmas season.
In New York City at Rockefeller Center, a large Christmas tree is magnificently decorated. In other areas of the world, Christmas trees are also decorated. Concerning Christmas trees, there are two basic options:
Artificial Christmas Trees
Many people who own pets, particularly cats, have allergies, or young children, choose to have an artificial Christmas tree because it is cleaner and environmentally friendly. In today’s eco-friendly world, fake Christmas trees can be used every year, and do not diminish a natural entity. These trees usually are in local stores, and can be easily placed together by following a set of given instructions. Additionally, many artificial Christmas trees now come fully decorated with lights, relieving many from untangling a string of holiday lights each season.
Real Christmas Trees
Many others prefer to buy a real Christmas tree. Often, local towns, cities, and communities have Christmas tree lots that begin sales immediately following Thanksgiving. However, real Christmas trees require a bit more work. They must be watered, and their leaves shed. If cleaning up pine needles and watering a plant are something you and your family do not have the time for, or will not do, a real Christmas tree is probably not for you. However, real Christmas trees add a sense of authenticity to holiday decorations.
Decorating the Tree
is often a family tradition. Many families decorate the tree in the weeks before Christmas, while others do it on Christmas Eve. Christmas tree decorations often include a set of lights, tinsel, garland, ornaments, and/or a popcorn string. Christmas ornaments can be found at local retailers, can be homemade, or can be passed down from generation to generation. Many families receive a new Christmas ornament every year, adding to their collection as the years continue.
Religious Observations
Depending on your religious beliefs, Christmas can also be a religious-oriented holiday. Many families go to mass during the Advent season, which is the forty days leading up to Christmas. During this time, the Christian church explains the stories leading up to the Birth of Jesus. Additionally, Advent Calendars usually count down the days until Christmas, bearing a tiny piece of chocolate and/or candy for each day.
Midnight mass
is another tradition for many families. Often, local churches will hold midnight ceremonies, celebrating the birth of Jesus. In some churches, the mass is said in its original Latin form, while, in others, the music is the highlight. Often, professional string quartets and/or band ensembles are hired to perform. Choruses and musicians also sing and/or play a variety of Christmas songs, such as The First Noel, Silent Night, and O Come All Ye Faithful.
Gifts
Although Christmas is not entirely about gifts, it is the time of year when gifts are both given and received. When shopping for gifts, there are many things to keep in mine, especially if you’re buying for someone who has eclectic tastes. Gifts do not have to be expensive. Often, the best gifts are homemade because they have sentimental value attached to them. If you’re struggling for gift ideas this holiday season, or if you’re wondering how you can create some gift-giving traditions in your family, the following section is for you.
Letters to Santa
If you have children who still believe in Santa Claus, making a list to mail to Santa is a great bonding activity. Encourage them to be creative and color and/or decorate their list in anyway that they want. For a more personalized list, have your children write down one or two reasons why they deserve a gift this year.
Visits with Santa
whether he be in a mall, shopping center, etc. Usually, children can sit on Santa’s lap, tell him what they want for Christmas, and get their pictures taken. Many parents make duplicates and use these pictures for the cover of their Christmas cards.
Christmas Cards
are another great way to send Holiday cheer to friends and family that cannot meet for the holidays. can be bought, signed, decorated, homemade, etc. Many families incorporate a family newsletter in which they explain how their year went for each family member. Others, take a family picture and sign their names at the bottom. Many make a family project out of homemade cards. However, some families more have traditions that are more secretive in nature.
Secret Santas
A Secret Santa can be a great idea for larger families. In a Secret Santa, everyone picks another person’s name out of a hat, with whoever they receive remaining a secret. The individual then buys or makes a gift for the person they chose. Come Christmas, the person and the gift is revealed. This can be a fun game with older children, but younger ones may have issues with keeping a secret.
Yankee Swaps
Often, extended families will gather to and hold a Yankee Swap. Yankee Swaps are usually best conducted in large families. In a Yankee Swap, each family brings a gift. Sometimes, there are themed swamps. For example, a re-gift swap or a homemade gift swap. Once together, each person picks a number out of a hat. Once all the numbers are dolled out to each person who’s participating, number one goes first and chooses a gift. Once he/she is done, number two goes, and so on. However, if the individual does not like the gift he/she chose, he/she can then take someone else’s gift, leaving the person with theirs. The best numbers to receive are numbers one or the last number because these lucky individuals can choose from any gift that they want. While this game can be fun, young children may be upset if a gift is taken away from them in exchange for a less desirous gift, therefore, older children are better participants.
Charity Events
One of the best gift-giving activities to do is to donate a gift to one of the many toy drives for those who are less fortunate. Every year, the Marine Corp holds their Toys for Tots program. In most cases, the toys can be donated at local malls, shopping centers, community centers, stores, etc. Also, the salvation army also asks for holiday donations in the form of spare change. Individuals usually stand outside of stores during the Christmas season. If you want to encourage your children to donate to charity, take them shopping and make it a family project to pick out a toy to donate. If your children are young, have them place the change in the Salvation Army bin so they can feel as though they’re participating too.
Many communities also hold food drives.
Make a day of collecting imperishable foods around your house and donating them. These types of drives are usually done through schools, community centers, grocery stores, and, in smaller communities, door-to-door collections. Giving to others is a great teaching tool for families, especially families with young children.
Outdoor Activities
For families who live in cold climates, winter and Christmas also come with snow. Many families choose to go skiing, ice skating, snowboarding, etc. In today’s society, even playing in snow or making snowmen is a great way to burn off those holiday treats. Usually, local golf courses and parks make great sledding hills. Additionally, hot chocolate is a warm winter treat after you and your family have returned from your outdoor adventures. If you don’t live in an area with snow, you can still partake in outdoor winter activities. One of the most popular is caroling. Families can join with neighbors, friends, and other family members to go door to door singing Christmas songs. Often, others enjoy the holiday cheer. When this is over, you can share a meal with everyone at a local restaurant and/or at someone’s home.
Food
After you’ve worked up an appetite playing in the snow, giving/buying gifts, and caroling, what’s better than to sit down and enjoy a meal with your family? Many families eat the same meal every year on Christmas. In America, many families eat a ham dinner because turkey was eaten the month before. However, many others eat foods pertaining to their particular ethnic backgrounds. Often, the food preparation can be made into a family tradition as well.Christmas cookies are one of the easiest traditions to begin. Because of the wide variety of brands, you and your family can make a various assortment of shapes, flavors, and cookie types. If you have young children, pre-made, packaged dough is the easiest, as it is efficient and less messy. If you want to teach your children more about cooking and measuring, cookies are fun to make from scratch. Recipes can be found through friends and family, cookbooks, the internet, etc.
Holiday parties.
These parties usually occur in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Often, family and friends meet to eat, mingle, talk, and celebrate the holiday season. If you’ve decided to partake in a Secret Santa or Yankee Swap, these holiday parties are often the best places to conduct them in. Additionally, another tradition that can be fun, especially for small children, is a dance party, using a collection of Christmas music. Other families conclude the evening with reading “The Night Before Christmas.” When enjoying the company of friends and family at a holiday party, is fun, remember to be careful.
Alcoholic beverages
When drinking, driving can be dangerous. Remember, drink responsibly, and if someone is too intoxicated to drive, let him/her stay the night.
Traditions Around the World
Because almost every Western, and some Eastern, cultures have Christmas celebrations, Christmas can be a great time to incorporate cultural traditions into your family’s celebrations.
In the following section, you’ll learn a brief overview of Christmas celebrations in Belgium, Mexico, and The Netherlands.
Belgium
The Belgium people celebrate Christmas on December 6th, on a day called Sinterklaas, or Saint Nicholas. Children receive small present under their tree, as well as in their stockings. For Christmas breakfast, families eat a sweet bread called “Cougnou.” Traditionally, this bread is shaped like the baby Jesus, as to commemorate his birth. A larger, family-oriented meal, is had later on in the day.
Mexico
Christmas in Mexico is a two-week long party! Mexicans called Christmas Las Posadas. Often, children reenact how Mary and Joseph looked for rooms in Bethlehem, finally choosing to settle in a barn, where Jesus was born. In the time following this performance, the group moves to a local church, where a piñata party is held. However, because Mexico has separate regions, each region celebrates differently. In some communities, this reenactment carries a more spiritual connotation, while in other communities, more emphasis is given to the Epiphany- or the arrival of the three Kings.
The Netherlands
In the Netherlands as with in Belgium, Santa Claus is referred to as Sinterklaas or Saint Nicholas. One December 6th, families gather for celebration. Children are told that Santa Claus travels from Spain to The Netherlands on December 5th. Dutch children place their shoes outside, filling them with hay and sugar in the same way Santa Claus’s reindeer are left carrots. In the morning, these things are replaced with candies and nuts. Christmas Day is also celebrated on December 25th, and December 26th is considered New Year’s Day. Additionally, Kings Day is celebrated on January 6th.
Whether you and your family adapt any cultural traditions, or create one of your own, Christmas is a holiday that can be as rewarding as it is stressful. Remember that the holiday is centered on giving, especially to those who are less fortunate. There is no right or wrong way to celebrate. Most importantly, enjoy the company of loved ones this Christmas season.
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Tuesday, November 25, 2008
One Of My Favorite Receipts For Thanksgiving Dinner
Spiced Waldorf Salad
A spiced version of a popular Waldorf salad, made with apples and walnuts.
Ingredients:
2 cups coarsely chopped apples, about 2 medium apples
1 1/4 cups chopped celery
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/3 cup mayonnaise(or yogart)
2 teaspoons sugar
dash allspice
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Preparation:
To make Waldorf salad, place chopped apple, celery and walnuts in a bowl.
Combine mayonnaise, sugar, allspice and lemon juice. Toss mayonnaise mixture with apple mixture.
Serve waldorf salad over salad greens if desired.
Waldorf salad serves 4 to 6.
A spiced version of a popular Waldorf salad, made with apples and walnuts.
Ingredients:
2 cups coarsely chopped apples, about 2 medium apples
1 1/4 cups chopped celery
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/3 cup mayonnaise(or yogart)
2 teaspoons sugar
dash allspice
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Preparation:
To make Waldorf salad, place chopped apple, celery and walnuts in a bowl.
Combine mayonnaise, sugar, allspice and lemon juice. Toss mayonnaise mixture with apple mixture.
Serve waldorf salad over salad greens if desired.
Waldorf salad serves 4 to 6.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Don't Miss The Texas Gaylords Ice Exibit
Begining November 14
The truly spectacular 14,000-square-foot "ICE!" exhibit, presented by Coca-Cola and sponsored by Nissan, Reliant Energy, and Sylvania, will feature a variety of magical holiday scenes and sculptures hand-carved by 40 visiting artisans from Harbin, China.
Visitors will feel as though they have been transported to the North Pole as they bundle up in warm parkas and enter this winter wonderland created with TWO MILLION pounds of ice and kept at a wintry 9 degrees.
This year, "ICE!" will showcase several new additions including Old Man Winter blowing snow, dazzling colored ornaments, a winter forest with an ice skating pond, a life-size Santa's lap to sit on, a candy land full of tempting treats, and an entertaining animal band. Returning favorites will include the thrilling ice slides, 25-foot angel, icicle canopy, and breathtaking Nativity.
The exhibit is open 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. on Sunday - Thursday and 10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. While there, visitors can also shop in the "ICE!" retail shop offering holiday gifts for children and adults. On Monday - Thursday, ticket prices are $20 for adults, $10 for children 4 - 12, $18 for seniors 55 and up, and free for children 3 and under. On Friday - Sunday, tickets prices are $23 for adults, $12 for children 4 - 12, $20 for seniors 55 and up, and complimentary for children 3 and under. Complimentary self-parking is included in the ticket price.
Order your tickets today...
The truly spectacular 14,000-square-foot "ICE!" exhibit, presented by Coca-Cola and sponsored by Nissan, Reliant Energy, and Sylvania, will feature a variety of magical holiday scenes and sculptures hand-carved by 40 visiting artisans from Harbin, China.
Visitors will feel as though they have been transported to the North Pole as they bundle up in warm parkas and enter this winter wonderland created with TWO MILLION pounds of ice and kept at a wintry 9 degrees.
This year, "ICE!" will showcase several new additions including Old Man Winter blowing snow, dazzling colored ornaments, a winter forest with an ice skating pond, a life-size Santa's lap to sit on, a candy land full of tempting treats, and an entertaining animal band. Returning favorites will include the thrilling ice slides, 25-foot angel, icicle canopy, and breathtaking Nativity.
The exhibit is open 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. on Sunday - Thursday and 10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. While there, visitors can also shop in the "ICE!" retail shop offering holiday gifts for children and adults. On Monday - Thursday, ticket prices are $20 for adults, $10 for children 4 - 12, $18 for seniors 55 and up, and free for children 3 and under. On Friday - Sunday, tickets prices are $23 for adults, $12 for children 4 - 12, $20 for seniors 55 and up, and complimentary for children 3 and under. Complimentary self-parking is included in the ticket price.
Order your tickets today...
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Halloween Fest 2008
Bring the entire family for a fun filled safe Halloween treat!
Have your face painted, enjoy bounce houses and carnival games.
Make slime and other arts and crafts.
Trick or treat at candy stations.
Concessions will be available.
The cost is a canned good per person or a donation to the Tarrant County Food Bank. The festival will be held on Friday, October 31 from 6:00pm - 9:00pm Ages 12 and under welcome.
For more information call 817-952-2323.
Have your face painted, enjoy bounce houses and carnival games.
Make slime and other arts and crafts.
Trick or treat at candy stations.
Concessions will be available.
The cost is a canned good per person or a donation to the Tarrant County Food Bank. The festival will be held on Friday, October 31 from 6:00pm - 9:00pm Ages 12 and under welcome.
For more information call 817-952-2323.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Proposed Economic Stabilization Act
A Summary: What's At Stake?
The House has defeated the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) on a vote of 205 – 228. NAR supported the package. Media reports about it did not present the case for the many ways it would have supported the real estate industry. The summary below presents all the bill’s provisions, condensed into some general subject headings. Many of these provisions are likely to survive in whatever legislation comes next.
Help Homeowners and Borrowers
The legislation responded to the criticisms that lenders have been slow and/or unwilling to work with homeowners and borrowers. It encouraged negotiation in short sales and consumer efforts to refinance or reconfigure existing mortgagesWhen the Treasury (or other federal agency that holds mortgages) acquires troubled existing mortgages from financial institutions, agencies are required to work with lenders and mortgage servicers to find ways to avoid foreclosures. All federal agencies are required to work with servicers to facilitate loan modifications that will consider the net present value of the mortgage. Similar refinancing and foreclosure prevention requirements apply to mortgages involving owners of multi-family properties. Policy goal is to assure that tenants don’t lose their residence when an owner has problems with the mortgage. Changes to existing mortgages can include (but are not limited to) revisions in principal, interest rate and period for repayment.
Get Money into the Financial System Quickly
The credit markets are nearly frozen. Lenders can’t lend because they are receiving no payments on existing loans. The legislation allowed the government to buy troubled loans and mortgage securities. The funds that the institutions received when the government purchased the existing portfolios were to be available to issue new mortgages with more carefully specified and monitored lending standards.Provisions includeCreate a Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to purchase and guarantee the troubled assets from the financial institutions that hold mortgages and/or mortgage-backed securities.A new Office of Financial Stability within the Treasury to operate TARP, with input from the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC – the agency that works with failed and failing financial institutions to insure and protect consumers), the Comptroller of the Currency (bank regulator), Office of Thrift Supervision (regulator of former savings and loan companies) and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Timing for TARP purchases designed to assure that all the authorized $700 Billion is not released at one time. First release of funds to purchase troubled assets will be $250 Billion. Second release of up to $100 Billion must be authorized by the President. Final $350 Billion can be issued only on Congressional approval. Congress given 15 days to act.
Follow, Protect and Watch Over the Money
Congress will keep a tight rein on TARP. Congress will have the assistance of numerous agencies charged with specific tasks and reporting responsibilities. TARP Oversight Board at Treasury -- monthly activity reports to Congress. Secretary of Treasury -- detailed reports to Congress for each $50 Billion in transactions as the transactions are completed. Government Accountability Office (Congress’s auditor) -- financial reports about TARP activities every 60 days. Judicial Review Federal courts may issue injunctions when there is a finding that the Secretary of the Treasury has acted in a manner that is arbitrary, capricious or outside the law. Create a new Inspector General (IG) for TARP. An IG might be viewed as the “cop on duty” who has authority to investigate TARP’s activities. IG will make quarterly reports to Congress. Appoint a Congressional Oversight Panel – receive and process all these reports to keep Congress apprised of the state of financial markets, activities of the regulatory system and the use of TARP’s asset acquisition and disposition authority. Federal Reserve--provide reports to Congress on utilization of the lending authority created earlier this year. That authority was intended to assist ailing financial institutions.
Put Brakes on the Bad Guys
Congress wanted to curtail perceived “bad acts” of executives who made big bets and lost.Assure that skilled asset managers who buy and sell TARP assets have no conflicts of interest with prior employers or firms. No golden parachute or severance payments to executives of companies that sell assets to TARP. If a company that sells assets to TARP does make any post-employment payments (other than retirement compensation), the executive (not the company) must pay a 20% excise tax. If a company sells assets to TARP, then no tax deductions for salary or other compensation will be allowed if a worker’s compensation package is more than $500,000. All financial regulatory agencies are required to cooperate with the FBI in its investigations of fraud, misrepresentation or malfeasance in the selling or advertising of financial products.
Give the Taxpayers a Stake in the Profits
Historically, when the government has intervened to shore up a company’s or government’s financial dealings (such as the loan guarantees made to Chrysler and the aid given to New York City during a fiscal crisis), the long-term effect has been that the government has made money back on the deal. The legislation provided an “upside” benefit for taxpayers
Any profits generated when the government subsequently sells TARP assets would be used to pay down the national debt. The government will receive warrants in the companies that participate in TARP. The warrants are similar to stock, but do not grant any voting authority to the government. If the participating company pays dividends at some future time, the warrants would allow the government to receive the dividend. Similarly, if the government sells its stake in the company, the warrants would entitle the government to any appreciation.
Recoup What’s Still Owed
If, after five years from the date of enactment (the date the President signs a bill), the program has lost money, the sitting President will be required to present a plan to Congress for ways to recover the funds from the financial institutions that benefited from the TARP relief.
The House has defeated the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) on a vote of 205 – 228. NAR supported the package. Media reports about it did not present the case for the many ways it would have supported the real estate industry. The summary below presents all the bill’s provisions, condensed into some general subject headings. Many of these provisions are likely to survive in whatever legislation comes next.
Help Homeowners and Borrowers
The legislation responded to the criticisms that lenders have been slow and/or unwilling to work with homeowners and borrowers. It encouraged negotiation in short sales and consumer efforts to refinance or reconfigure existing mortgagesWhen the Treasury (or other federal agency that holds mortgages) acquires troubled existing mortgages from financial institutions, agencies are required to work with lenders and mortgage servicers to find ways to avoid foreclosures. All federal agencies are required to work with servicers to facilitate loan modifications that will consider the net present value of the mortgage. Similar refinancing and foreclosure prevention requirements apply to mortgages involving owners of multi-family properties. Policy goal is to assure that tenants don’t lose their residence when an owner has problems with the mortgage. Changes to existing mortgages can include (but are not limited to) revisions in principal, interest rate and period for repayment.
Get Money into the Financial System Quickly
The credit markets are nearly frozen. Lenders can’t lend because they are receiving no payments on existing loans. The legislation allowed the government to buy troubled loans and mortgage securities. The funds that the institutions received when the government purchased the existing portfolios were to be available to issue new mortgages with more carefully specified and monitored lending standards.Provisions includeCreate a Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to purchase and guarantee the troubled assets from the financial institutions that hold mortgages and/or mortgage-backed securities.A new Office of Financial Stability within the Treasury to operate TARP, with input from the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC – the agency that works with failed and failing financial institutions to insure and protect consumers), the Comptroller of the Currency (bank regulator), Office of Thrift Supervision (regulator of former savings and loan companies) and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Timing for TARP purchases designed to assure that all the authorized $700 Billion is not released at one time. First release of funds to purchase troubled assets will be $250 Billion. Second release of up to $100 Billion must be authorized by the President. Final $350 Billion can be issued only on Congressional approval. Congress given 15 days to act.
Follow, Protect and Watch Over the Money
Congress will keep a tight rein on TARP. Congress will have the assistance of numerous agencies charged with specific tasks and reporting responsibilities. TARP Oversight Board at Treasury -- monthly activity reports to Congress. Secretary of Treasury -- detailed reports to Congress for each $50 Billion in transactions as the transactions are completed. Government Accountability Office (Congress’s auditor) -- financial reports about TARP activities every 60 days. Judicial Review Federal courts may issue injunctions when there is a finding that the Secretary of the Treasury has acted in a manner that is arbitrary, capricious or outside the law. Create a new Inspector General (IG) for TARP. An IG might be viewed as the “cop on duty” who has authority to investigate TARP’s activities. IG will make quarterly reports to Congress. Appoint a Congressional Oversight Panel – receive and process all these reports to keep Congress apprised of the state of financial markets, activities of the regulatory system and the use of TARP’s asset acquisition and disposition authority. Federal Reserve--provide reports to Congress on utilization of the lending authority created earlier this year. That authority was intended to assist ailing financial institutions.
Put Brakes on the Bad Guys
Congress wanted to curtail perceived “bad acts” of executives who made big bets and lost.Assure that skilled asset managers who buy and sell TARP assets have no conflicts of interest with prior employers or firms. No golden parachute or severance payments to executives of companies that sell assets to TARP. If a company that sells assets to TARP does make any post-employment payments (other than retirement compensation), the executive (not the company) must pay a 20% excise tax. If a company sells assets to TARP, then no tax deductions for salary or other compensation will be allowed if a worker’s compensation package is more than $500,000. All financial regulatory agencies are required to cooperate with the FBI in its investigations of fraud, misrepresentation or malfeasance in the selling or advertising of financial products.
Give the Taxpayers a Stake in the Profits
Historically, when the government has intervened to shore up a company’s or government’s financial dealings (such as the loan guarantees made to Chrysler and the aid given to New York City during a fiscal crisis), the long-term effect has been that the government has made money back on the deal. The legislation provided an “upside” benefit for taxpayers
Any profits generated when the government subsequently sells TARP assets would be used to pay down the national debt. The government will receive warrants in the companies that participate in TARP. The warrants are similar to stock, but do not grant any voting authority to the government. If the participating company pays dividends at some future time, the warrants would allow the government to receive the dividend. Similarly, if the government sells its stake in the company, the warrants would entitle the government to any appreciation.
Recoup What’s Still Owed
If, after five years from the date of enactment (the date the President signs a bill), the program has lost money, the sitting President will be required to present a plan to Congress for ways to recover the funds from the financial institutions that benefited from the TARP relief.
Monday, September 22, 2008
The Latest on Mineral Drilling in Bedford
Critics of urban drilling want gas wells to be farther from Fort Worth homes
By MIKE LEE Originally posted in the Fort Worth Star Telegram
FORT WORTH
In the Crestwood neighborhood, west of downtown, neighbors are going door to door to fight a high-impact drilling permit for a site near Greenwood Cemetery.
The plan calls for a natural gas drill site in a grove of old-growth trees along the Trinity River. The original plan called for dozens of trucks serving the site to rumble down a narrow blacktop road, past a Little League field and a playground, behind more than 60 houses, and along the Trinity River hike-and-bike trail.
The site is near Rockwood Park, so it will require a hearing before the City Council. And it’s just one example of what may be the future of gas drilling in Fort Worth.
The city requires gas wells to be 600 feet from houses, parks, churches, schools or hospitals, unless companies get a special high-impact permit. The system, in place for two years, has been controversial from the beginning, and both proponents and critics of urban gas drilling want to change it. A task force that is rewriting the city gas ordinance is expected to begin discussions in a few weeks.
Fort Worth has gotten requests for about 120 high-impact permits since the system was set up, out of about 1,150 wells in all. Of those, more than half — 64 — have been issued in the last year, and 50 have been issued in the last seven months.
In most of those cases, the energy companies got waivers from the surrounding property owners. The City Council has considered about 10. The council has never voted against a high-impact permit, although a few have been delayed and later withdrawn.
In the last year, Chesapeake Energy has asked for 44 high-impact permits. XTO Energy has requested 13, and Devon Energy has applied for five. Frost Brothers and Quicksilver Resources have requested one each.
Higher stakes?
Whatever happens in Crestwood, many observers agree that gas drilling in the Barnett Shale will continue to move closer to homes in established neighborhoods.
"The more you drill up the easy sites, the more you’re going to get into the hard ones," said Councilman Carter Burdette, who represents Crestwood.
The distance between gas wells and surrounding homes has been one of the most basic arguments since gas drilling began in Fort Worth. As much as half of the land in the city, which lies above the Barnett Shale natural gas field, has been leased to drilling companies. Neighborhoods have begun banding together to negotiate ever-more-lucrative deals. In some residential areas, homeowners are earning $25,000 an acre in upfront bonuses, and 25 percent royalties on gas production.
Until 2006, Fort Worth had a 600-foot limit between gas wells and "protected land uses" — homes, churches, parks schools and hospitals, Assistant City Attorney Sarah Fullenwider said. Companies could drill closer if they got a waiver from the council, but only a few were granted.
The city was considering lowering the limit to 300 feet in 2006. But a fatal gas well accident happened in Forest Hill, just outside Fort Worth, in April 2006, just as a city task force was debating the new limit. Four days after the accident, Mayor Mike Moncrief called for a 600-foot limit. Moncrief and others have since said they were discussing the extended limit even before the accident.
As a compromise, the city allowed companies to drill within 200 feet of protected land uses — if they got written waivers from all the landowners within 600 feet of the wellhead or permission from the council.
A sampling of other Tarrant County cities found that some, including Bedford and Richland Hills, don’t allow waivers from their distance limits. North Richland Hills requires drillers who want a waiver to go before an appeals board. Arlington and Hurst allow variances from their distance setbacks, but they have to be approved by the City Council. Euless does the same, but requires a supermajority vote from the City Council.
Waiver problems?
Neighborhood groups didn’t like the waiver system from the beginning. They’ve said that it allows companies to essentially buy their way to a permit, and that it puts neighborhoods at the mercy of absentee landowners.
That’s the case on Scott Avenue in east Fort Worth, where Chesapeake has applied for a permit to drill next to the Tandy Hills Nature Center, according to nearby resident Mike Phipps. Chesapeake has received a waiver from one landowner at the end of the street, the only one within the distance limit. But the trucks serving the drill site will affect every resident for three blocks.
Jim Bradbury, a lawyer who sits on the Fort Worth gas drilling task force, said at a recent meeting there’s another flaw in the waiver system. The ordinance doesn’t classify apartments as homes. So when Chesapeake asked for a permit last month to drill a high-impact well on Oak Grove Road, the company had to get permission from the City Council, because of the site’s proximity to an undeveloped park. But the dozens of apartments just across the street from the site weren’t taken into account until Councilwoman Kathleen Hicks asked about them.
The proposed well site is on a large vacant tract; the City Council delayed a vote on the permit to give Chesapeake time to see if there’s a way to reposition the well, farther away from the apartments.
Much to lose ?
Proponents say high-impact permits are going to become more common, if people are to receive the money they expect from their mineral rights. And the gas companies have invested millions of dollars in setting up those leases.
On the same night that Crestwood residents were opposing the permit in their neighborhood, a couple of dozen residents in Highland Hills were asking for a high-impact permit near their neighborhood, which is near Oak Grove Road and Interstate 20 in south Fort Worth. Highland Hills residents signed their leases around 2005, earlier than other neighborhoods, and many residents received only a $200 bonus for a residential lot.
"Highland Hills got the short end of the stick when it came to gas-lease bonuses," said neighborhood leader Eunice Givens. "We told them to make it up with the royalties. We are in support of this [permit]."
Spokeswomen for XTO and Devon declined to comment on the permit system.
Chesapeake spokeswoman Jerri Robbins said via e-mail that waivers will continue to be necessary if inner-city residents are going to get the money they’ve been promised for the natural gas beneath their land.
"Yes, we can safely say Chesapeake has much to lose, as we have spent millions of dollars obtaining mineral leases in order to produce the minerals of lessors from contiguous parcels of land," Robbins wrote. "But we are not the only ones losing — future royalty owners will never receive their royalty checks if we are not able to drill, our nation loses an important energy source, and the city loses millions in tax revenue."
What’s the rush ?
Paul Roach, a frequent Trinity River trail user, said some areas of the city have to be preserved, even if there’s an economic downside.
There’s a bench dedicated to his late wife along the trail near the Crestwood site, and Roach has collected 300 signatures on a petition opposing the permit.
Up to now, most of the discussion about the site has dealt with the truck route. Roach said he’s concerned about the impact on the 100-year-old trees along the river, which are home to hawks and other wildlife.
If the city were to turn down the permit, Chesapeake might still be able to drill at the site in the future, as technology improves, he said.
"They’re drilling further and further now, what’s the rush here?" he asked.
"We’re going to have to come to the understanding that there are there some places in our city where it’s inappropriate and the impact just too high for us to drill."
Staff writers Jessica DeLeon, Susan Schrock and Adrienne Nettles contributed to this report. MIKE LEE, 817-390-7539
By MIKE LEE Originally posted in the Fort Worth Star Telegram
FORT WORTH
In the Crestwood neighborhood, west of downtown, neighbors are going door to door to fight a high-impact drilling permit for a site near Greenwood Cemetery.
The plan calls for a natural gas drill site in a grove of old-growth trees along the Trinity River. The original plan called for dozens of trucks serving the site to rumble down a narrow blacktop road, past a Little League field and a playground, behind more than 60 houses, and along the Trinity River hike-and-bike trail.
The site is near Rockwood Park, so it will require a hearing before the City Council. And it’s just one example of what may be the future of gas drilling in Fort Worth.
The city requires gas wells to be 600 feet from houses, parks, churches, schools or hospitals, unless companies get a special high-impact permit. The system, in place for two years, has been controversial from the beginning, and both proponents and critics of urban gas drilling want to change it. A task force that is rewriting the city gas ordinance is expected to begin discussions in a few weeks.
Fort Worth has gotten requests for about 120 high-impact permits since the system was set up, out of about 1,150 wells in all. Of those, more than half — 64 — have been issued in the last year, and 50 have been issued in the last seven months.
In most of those cases, the energy companies got waivers from the surrounding property owners. The City Council has considered about 10. The council has never voted against a high-impact permit, although a few have been delayed and later withdrawn.
In the last year, Chesapeake Energy has asked for 44 high-impact permits. XTO Energy has requested 13, and Devon Energy has applied for five. Frost Brothers and Quicksilver Resources have requested one each.
Higher stakes?
Whatever happens in Crestwood, many observers agree that gas drilling in the Barnett Shale will continue to move closer to homes in established neighborhoods.
"The more you drill up the easy sites, the more you’re going to get into the hard ones," said Councilman Carter Burdette, who represents Crestwood.
The distance between gas wells and surrounding homes has been one of the most basic arguments since gas drilling began in Fort Worth. As much as half of the land in the city, which lies above the Barnett Shale natural gas field, has been leased to drilling companies. Neighborhoods have begun banding together to negotiate ever-more-lucrative deals. In some residential areas, homeowners are earning $25,000 an acre in upfront bonuses, and 25 percent royalties on gas production.
Until 2006, Fort Worth had a 600-foot limit between gas wells and "protected land uses" — homes, churches, parks schools and hospitals, Assistant City Attorney Sarah Fullenwider said. Companies could drill closer if they got a waiver from the council, but only a few were granted.
The city was considering lowering the limit to 300 feet in 2006. But a fatal gas well accident happened in Forest Hill, just outside Fort Worth, in April 2006, just as a city task force was debating the new limit. Four days after the accident, Mayor Mike Moncrief called for a 600-foot limit. Moncrief and others have since said they were discussing the extended limit even before the accident.
As a compromise, the city allowed companies to drill within 200 feet of protected land uses — if they got written waivers from all the landowners within 600 feet of the wellhead or permission from the council.
A sampling of other Tarrant County cities found that some, including Bedford and Richland Hills, don’t allow waivers from their distance limits. North Richland Hills requires drillers who want a waiver to go before an appeals board. Arlington and Hurst allow variances from their distance setbacks, but they have to be approved by the City Council. Euless does the same, but requires a supermajority vote from the City Council.
Waiver problems?
Neighborhood groups didn’t like the waiver system from the beginning. They’ve said that it allows companies to essentially buy their way to a permit, and that it puts neighborhoods at the mercy of absentee landowners.
That’s the case on Scott Avenue in east Fort Worth, where Chesapeake has applied for a permit to drill next to the Tandy Hills Nature Center, according to nearby resident Mike Phipps. Chesapeake has received a waiver from one landowner at the end of the street, the only one within the distance limit. But the trucks serving the drill site will affect every resident for three blocks.
Jim Bradbury, a lawyer who sits on the Fort Worth gas drilling task force, said at a recent meeting there’s another flaw in the waiver system. The ordinance doesn’t classify apartments as homes. So when Chesapeake asked for a permit last month to drill a high-impact well on Oak Grove Road, the company had to get permission from the City Council, because of the site’s proximity to an undeveloped park. But the dozens of apartments just across the street from the site weren’t taken into account until Councilwoman Kathleen Hicks asked about them.
The proposed well site is on a large vacant tract; the City Council delayed a vote on the permit to give Chesapeake time to see if there’s a way to reposition the well, farther away from the apartments.
Much to lose ?
Proponents say high-impact permits are going to become more common, if people are to receive the money they expect from their mineral rights. And the gas companies have invested millions of dollars in setting up those leases.
On the same night that Crestwood residents were opposing the permit in their neighborhood, a couple of dozen residents in Highland Hills were asking for a high-impact permit near their neighborhood, which is near Oak Grove Road and Interstate 20 in south Fort Worth. Highland Hills residents signed their leases around 2005, earlier than other neighborhoods, and many residents received only a $200 bonus for a residential lot.
"Highland Hills got the short end of the stick when it came to gas-lease bonuses," said neighborhood leader Eunice Givens. "We told them to make it up with the royalties. We are in support of this [permit]."
Spokeswomen for XTO and Devon declined to comment on the permit system.
Chesapeake spokeswoman Jerri Robbins said via e-mail that waivers will continue to be necessary if inner-city residents are going to get the money they’ve been promised for the natural gas beneath their land.
"Yes, we can safely say Chesapeake has much to lose, as we have spent millions of dollars obtaining mineral leases in order to produce the minerals of lessors from contiguous parcels of land," Robbins wrote. "But we are not the only ones losing — future royalty owners will never receive their royalty checks if we are not able to drill, our nation loses an important energy source, and the city loses millions in tax revenue."
What’s the rush ?
Paul Roach, a frequent Trinity River trail user, said some areas of the city have to be preserved, even if there’s an economic downside.
There’s a bench dedicated to his late wife along the trail near the Crestwood site, and Roach has collected 300 signatures on a petition opposing the permit.
Up to now, most of the discussion about the site has dealt with the truck route. Roach said he’s concerned about the impact on the 100-year-old trees along the river, which are home to hawks and other wildlife.
If the city were to turn down the permit, Chesapeake might still be able to drill at the site in the future, as technology improves, he said.
"They’re drilling further and further now, what’s the rush here?" he asked.
"We’re going to have to come to the understanding that there are there some places in our city where it’s inappropriate and the impact just too high for us to drill."
Staff writers Jessica DeLeon, Susan Schrock and Adrienne Nettles contributed to this report. MIKE LEE, 817-390-7539
Saturday, September 6, 2008
The History of Bedford
Bedford is one of those small towns that nearly died, somehow survived and became one of the thriving children of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. With a higher per capita land value than either Dallas or Fort Worth, Bedford does not have slums, nor does it have extremely wealthy neighborhoods. However, the average family earns almost $80k a year, so funding for all city services is extremely high.
The history of a town that did almost absolutely nothing to put itself on the map until almost 100 years after it was settled.
Timeline of Bedford's History
1850's - First known U.S. settlers in the Bedford area begin arriving.
1862 - The first school in the settlement, a log building, was built.
1870 - Weldon Wiles Bobo migrates from Bedford County, Tennessee in 1870, and establishes a store.
1871 - Earliest legible tombstone. Elizabeth White Bobo (1866-1871).
1877 - A post office is opened in W. W. Bobo's home, by which time the community has acquired the name of Bedford.
1882 - Population passes 1,000. This surpasses in population all other communities in Tarrant County except Fort Worth.
1903 - The Rock Island Railway bypasses Bedford, causing a loss of industry and commercial interest.
1905 - A new highway (I-30) was built between Fort Worth and Dallas through Arlington and Grand Prairie. Population in Bedford begins to plummet.
31 December
1909 - Bedford's Post Office closes down. Only one store remains in the entire town. Population is now about 50.
1912 - Construction began on the two-story Bedford Elementary School, which was located on the site of a previous College, which burned down in 1893. Ironically, this same school burned down almost exactly 100 years later in 1993. Today, the restored Old Bedford School, the only educational structure in northeast Tarrant County listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
1930's - Bedford now has 4 stores.
1940's - Population at a meager 76 gets the first big boom thanks toWorld War II.
1949 - Bedford Boys Ranch, originally a home for boys, was established. (in present day it is a social center and recreational park, and also the site of the July 4th Fireworks every year.
1953 - The town of Bedford is incorporated, boasting a population of 475 within a two-square mile area, including residents of the Boys Ranch.
1955 - The city's first fire department is established with 30 volunteers.
1959 - A new fire hall/city hall building is opened.
1960 - The population has grown to 2,700 within an area of ten square miles.
1964 - First library built in a small home near the fire hall/city building.
1965 - First Police department created with one police officer.
1966 - Library moved to a larger house on Forest Ridge Drive.
1970 - Population passes 10,000 with an annual growth rate of 7.56%. Value of taxable property was $80 million.
1975 - City acquires the Bedford Boys Ranch and turns it into a park. New City Hall/Police building built on Forest Ridge. Library was moved to the bottom floor.
1980 - Population is 20,821 Annual growth rate was 7.71% and taxable property value was at $251 million.
Additions to the city included a new library, service center, animal control center, senior citizens center, community center and expanded park and recreational facilities. A downturn in the national economy impacted the community.
1990 - Population more than doubles to 45,000.
written by: TheLibra
The history of a town that did almost absolutely nothing to put itself on the map until almost 100 years after it was settled.
Timeline of Bedford's History
1850's - First known U.S. settlers in the Bedford area begin arriving.
1862 - The first school in the settlement, a log building, was built.
1870 - Weldon Wiles Bobo migrates from Bedford County, Tennessee in 1870, and establishes a store.
1871 - Earliest legible tombstone. Elizabeth White Bobo (1866-1871).
1877 - A post office is opened in W. W. Bobo's home, by which time the community has acquired the name of Bedford.
1882 - Population passes 1,000. This surpasses in population all other communities in Tarrant County except Fort Worth.
1903 - The Rock Island Railway bypasses Bedford, causing a loss of industry and commercial interest.
1905 - A new highway (I-30) was built between Fort Worth and Dallas through Arlington and Grand Prairie. Population in Bedford begins to plummet.
31 December
1909 - Bedford's Post Office closes down. Only one store remains in the entire town. Population is now about 50.
1912 - Construction began on the two-story Bedford Elementary School, which was located on the site of a previous College, which burned down in 1893. Ironically, this same school burned down almost exactly 100 years later in 1993. Today, the restored Old Bedford School, the only educational structure in northeast Tarrant County listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
1930's - Bedford now has 4 stores.
1940's - Population at a meager 76 gets the first big boom thanks toWorld War II.
1949 - Bedford Boys Ranch, originally a home for boys, was established. (in present day it is a social center and recreational park, and also the site of the July 4th Fireworks every year.
1953 - The town of Bedford is incorporated, boasting a population of 475 within a two-square mile area, including residents of the Boys Ranch.
1955 - The city's first fire department is established with 30 volunteers.
1959 - A new fire hall/city hall building is opened.
1960 - The population has grown to 2,700 within an area of ten square miles.
1964 - First library built in a small home near the fire hall/city building.
1965 - First Police department created with one police officer.
1966 - Library moved to a larger house on Forest Ridge Drive.
1970 - Population passes 10,000 with an annual growth rate of 7.56%. Value of taxable property was $80 million.
1975 - City acquires the Bedford Boys Ranch and turns it into a park. New City Hall/Police building built on Forest Ridge. Library was moved to the bottom floor.
1980 - Population is 20,821 Annual growth rate was 7.71% and taxable property value was at $251 million.
Additions to the city included a new library, service center, animal control center, senior citizens center, community center and expanded park and recreational facilities. A downturn in the national economy impacted the community.
1990 - Population more than doubles to 45,000.
written by: TheLibra
Find Out Whats Going on in Bedford
For the latest news and events in Bedford
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