PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Summer is just about gone, and as hot as this one has been, life in Northwood Hills has been anything but dull. Our July 4th parade, run by Sherry Peart, was a huge success as you can see from the photos inside. Thank you Sherry for a wonderful job!

There has also been some interesting new real estate activity in recent weeks. Word has it that Albertson's will build a new store on the old Holly Tree site. In addition, an over-all upgrading of the entire northwest comer of Coit and Spring Valley can mean prime space for new retail shops. This is welcome news.

Another development concerns 8.7 acres on the south side of Spring Valley between White Rock Creek and Hillcrest Road. The developer, LTS Group, Inc., proposes to construct zero lot-line "patio homes" on the property. Use of this flood plain acreage for this purpose, together with the $579,000 and up price range, should compliment our neighborhood.

Fast approaching are two first-time NHHA events, our Fall Festival on Saturday, October 2, and our Golf Tournament on Monday, October 11. Prizes will be awarded in the Festival Family Run/Walk Contest, as well as for first and second place team winners in the Golf Tournament. Please take a minute to read more about these events on inside pages

And catch up on all other NHHA "happenings" by visiting our Website -- www.northwoodhills.org. And while you're logged on, check out a new feature we've asked our Webmaster to add a list of neighborhood activities and opportunities that need volunteers. Look it over and see what strikes your fancy or fits your special skills and interests.

We need you!

HOMEOWNERS MAY BE FINED AS TOUGH NEW BULK TRASH ORDINANCE TAKES EFFECT

On August 25, by a vote of 13-2, the Dallas City Council passed a restrictive new ordinance affecting the way we treat bulk trash at curbside each month. The new law effectively narrows the window in time for placing bulk trash at the curb, and allows the city to fine homeowners as much as $200 for repeat violations.

It is now a violation of city law for homeowners to place bulk trash curbside earlier than the Thursday before their scheduled pickup week.

Furthermore, the trash must be placed at the curb no later than 7:00 AM on the Monday of the pickup week.

First-time violators of the new law will be warned; repeat offenders can be fined up to $200 per violation.

Prior to passage of the new law, residents had the entire week prior to their scheduled pick-up to place bulk trash at the curb. This week-long window often caused confusion as to when the trash was to be picked up. In addition, roughly half of Northwood Hills residents are scheduled for pick-up the first week of the month, and the other half the second week. That meant that bulk trash could legally be at curbsides for three weeks out of every four. That's too long for trash to be marring the beauty of our streets and lawns. This ugly fact has been the most complained about issue brought to your Board the past year.

THE NEW LAW TAKES EFFECT ON NOVEMBER 29, 1999.

NORTHWOOD HILLS REAL ESTATE UPDATE

Through August this year, 38 homes have sold in Northwood Hills according to the Greater Dallas Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service. The average sales price was $362,834, average price per square foot was $95.97, and average number of days on the market was 89.

Statistical details follow:

29 homes sold in the $200,000-$400,000 price range. As of September 6, 1999, there were five homes with sales pending, 20 homes listed for sale, and 3 of these had option contracts.

Note: When new neighbors move in near you, please call the NHHA Voice Mail HotLine at 972-480-5249 and leave their names and addresses to help us keep our mailing list current. Thanks!

PTA ACTIVITIES., EVENTS RAISE NEEDED $$$ FOR NHE SCHOOL IMPROVEMENTS

Thanks to the NHE/PTA, the playing fields this year are level and green. Funds raised at PTA activities last year made leveling and installation of a sprinkler system possible. This year, our PTA budget will pay for planting 20 trees around the school!

Here is the PTA activity and event lineup for this school year:

Magazine subscription and gift wrap sale (sponsored by Reader's Digest) kicks off September 24. Renew your favorite magazines and order high quality gift wrap when the kids come around to your house with their catalogs.

Cost-free giving to NHE when you buy your groceries at Albertsons, Tom Thumb, and Kroger. Each grocery chain will contribute a percentage of your bills to NHE if you make the arrangement. Details at your supermarket office window. NHE's special number at Tom Thumb is 3797.

"Box Tops for Education" by General Mills contributes ten or fifteen cents for every one you turn in. Just tear off the tops and drop them by NHE, or give them to a child in school here.

Make use of Market Day at NHE to stock up on Campbell's, Tyson's, Quaker Oats, Tropicana, and many other brands and our school gets the profits. You get an order form each month and pick up your goods at the cafeteria.

Take advantage of PTA activities and you'll benefit the kids at NHE!

A PERSONAL HISTORY OF NORTHWOOD HILLS

As the decade of the sixties began, Dallas found itself behind Houston in population by 600,000 to 900,000. San Antonio drew more tourists than the other two cities combined. Houston was big oil. San Antonio was the gateway to Mexico. Dallas was a city seeking an identity.

Still, Dallas proudly proclaimed itself the financial center of the Southwest, loaded with asset-rich insurance companies and banks. Southland Life had the tallest building on the skyline, but Southwestern Life was the larger insurance company, among the nation's top ten. The "big three" Dallas banks were Republic National, First National Bank in Dallas, and Mercantile National, all three of which would later mark the Dallas skyline with distinctive skyscrapers. There was also a funky little snack food maker, The Frito Company, that would soon attract various merger partners, become Frito-Lay, and by the early seventies grow up to be the biggest snack marketer in the world. Success stories of all kinds were germinating in Dallas in the early sixties.

Then came November, 1963. I remember, as you do, exactly where I was when I learned of the assassination - having lunch in the dining room of the Tropicana Motel across from my company's office building on Central Expressway at Haskell. That evening our home telephone rang off the wall as friends

Continued on next page.

back in New York called to ask "Just what the hell is going on down there?" Somehow the image of Dallas as a hotbed of right wing radicals pervaded the northeast, and we were all being tarred with that brush. As events unfolded in the aftermath of the assassination, it felt pretty lonely out here on the prairie

My street, Paldao Drive, was the last stretch of pavement to the north until you reached Belt Line Road. Meandering Way dead-ended at the entrance to our paved alley. Spring Valley didn't exist between Coit and Hillcrest. Behind our house there was nothing but a plowed-under cotton field, bois d'arc trees, and the remains of an old farmhouse chimney by a muddy creek bed. (Somewhere in that mud were a half-dozen or more lost sneakers from the feet of the Mitchell kids).

As the Oswald, Ruby, and Warren Commission stories played out, Big D in the mid-sixties was a pretty gloomy place to be. But Dallas came back, buoyed by the irrepressible optimism of its business leaders -- names like Thornton, Stemmons, Jonsson, and the brothers Cullum -- until by decade's end the stage was set for one of the most dynamic growth periods in the city's history, the Soaring Seventies.

In 1971, Dallas and Fort Worth joined forces for two epochal events: they combined their Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas to become a unified ten county mega-market with a population of two million,, introduced to the world as "The Southwest Metroplex; " and they combined their visions of the future to build DFW International Airport, "An Airport as Big as Manhattan." BOOM-BOOM!

By then, the missing link in Spring Valley Road was completed from Coit Road to west of Hillcrest (where for years it dead-ended at White Rock Creek for lack of a bridge). The Northwood Hills Addition had spread north all the way to Belt Line. Across Hillcrest, Northwood Hills Estates was sprouting new 3,000 to 3,500 square-foot homes on half- acre lots.

In order to fund these new sections, developers Mixon Troth sold thirty acres to the City of Dallas for Fretz Park, named for an early Dallas architect who designed many landmark city government buildings. By the arrival of the fateful eighties, Northwood Hills had achieved distinction as a mature, highly desirable neighborhood.

When 1980 rolled in, Dallas was known the world over as the playground of J.R. Ewing and the home of Southfork Ranch. Downtown office growth had reached such a peak that the "official bird of Dallas" was the building crane. There was no stopping the expansion fever.

Five years later came the fall. And it was heartbreaking. All of Dallas's proud banks failed. Shareholders caught up in the bank holding company boom saw their life savings zeroed out. Giants of the real estate scene went bankrupt. We all wept. It was one of the worst regional economic collapses in the nation's history.

Nearly fifteen years have now passed, and Dallas is still paying for the damage. But signs of resurgence and a new cycle of prosperity can be seen in the light of the dawning millennium.

I believe we can visualize the future of our neighborhood from two viewpoints: first, you can drive all the way to the Oklahoma border and fail to find a luxury

home community with such deep set-backs on such expansive lots as Northwood Hills. This affords our winding streets and gentle hills a gracious sweep and charm without equal in any of the newer developments. Complementing this is the classic style and variety of architecture seen in our homes, unlike the "cookie-cutter mansions" going up on postage stamp lots to the north of us. This should preserve our values in the marketplace for years to come.

Second, the planned start of construction in mid-2000 of the interchange at LBJ and North Central has the potential to significantly increase the value of surrounding land. The northwest quadrant of this crossroads, nearest to us, is likely to feel the positive impact most. Demand for well-positioned and generally under-utilized real estate in this quadrant can be expected to attract top quality development. Our neighborhood can only benefit.

For forty years Marion and I have lived in our wonderful house, and we're looking forward to decades more. To all our neighbors we wish the same measure of joy we have found in this place, in this time and in our own personal history.

Post Script

Among the early Northwood Hills homeowners still living here are names like Baldelli, Ensey, Hartman, Mixon, Toan, Troth -- and so many more we would like to identify -- that we are asking for your help. If you became a Northwood Hills resident before 1975 please send us your name and address at Northwood Hills Pioneers, c/o Marion Mitchell, 7371 Paldao Drive, Dallas, TX 75240. Thanks so much!

HELP US SERVE YOU BETTER BY INVITING YOUR NEIGHBORS TO JOIN NHHA.

There are approximately 1,200 homes in Northwood Hills, and more than 500 of them are members of your homeowners association. That's great -- the highest membership number we've ever had!

But it is still less than half the homeowners in our neighborhood. We can do better. And as we grow, we are better able to serve our members.

Talk to your neighbors. Welcome new families when they move in near you. Invite them all to join NHHA. It's to the benefit of everyone in your neighborhood.

Use this handy membership form:

NAME


SPOUSE'S NAME


ADDRESS


HOME TEL.


BUSINESS TEL.

Dues are $20/month paid quarterly.
Enclosed is my check for ___$60 (one qtr) ___$120 (six mos) __$240 (twelve mos)
Please mail to NHHA, P.O. Box 800874
Dallas, TX 75380-0874.

CRIME NEWS AND TIPS FROM YOUR NORTHWOOD HILLS PATROL.

Recently there have been several robberies in our area. Cars parked in garage driveways have been broken into and, on two occasions, stolen. The cars stolen have been recovered. Also, several homes have been entered or had entry attempted. These activities have mostly occurred between midnight and 5 AM. Your Patrol, along with the North Central Station, are actively seeking to apprehend the persons involved. In the meantime, please be certain that when you retire for the evening or leave your home that all exterior doors and windows are securely locked. If you open your garage door during the day to relieve the summer heat, make sure you close it. An open garage door is an invitation to enter your property.

We have also noticed too many bikes, children's toys, lawn mowers and other yard equipment left unattended in front and back yards. If you want to keep it, keep it secure.

Many NHHA homeowners have asked us, "What can I do to help reduce crime in our neighborhood?" We can come and give your home a security inspection. But for the entire neighborhood we suggest that you just be aware. If you see a suspicious car or person in your area, dial 911 and report it. Then call our Patrol number and give us the same information.

Watching out for one another is the best way to fight crime!

HERE ARE SOME NUMBERS YOU'LL WANT TO KEEP NEAR YOUR TELEPHONE.

Emergencies (police, fire, ambulance)  911
Electric emergency (TXU)      972-791-2888
Gas emergency (TXU)           214-741-3750

Dallas City Service (24 hrs.)          311
Some services handled by this number:
    Animal Control     Pothole Repair
Sanitation Collection   Traffic Signal Fix
    Water Main Break    Sewer Stoppage
           Water Dept. Emergency

Emergencies (police, fire, ambulance) 911
Electric emergency (TXU) 972-791-2888
Gas emergency (TXU) 214-741-3750

Dallas City Service (24 hrs.) 311
Some services handled by this number: Animal Control Pothole Repair Sanitation Collection Traffic Signal Fix Water Main Break Sewer Stoppage
Water Dept. Emergency

Councilmember Lois Finkelman 214-670-7817
Councilmember Sandy Greyson 214-6704067
Aged disabled services 214-630-9539
Auto accident report (daytime only) 214-670-4455
Automobile pound (24 hrs.) 214-670-5116
Automobile theft reports 214-670-6632
Child abuse 1-800-252-5400 or 817-640-6200
Consumer protection 214-948-4400
Crime Stoppers hotline 214-760-8477
Dallas Central Appraisal Dist 214-631-0502
DART Action Center 214-749-3333
DART schedule information 214-979-1111
Fraud Hotline (City of Dallas) 972-293-7283
Narcotics (Police) 214-670-5800
Office of Senior Affairs 214-670-5709
Recycling information 214-670-4475
Street light repair (TXU) 972-791-2888
Tax, City/School 214-744-1000

Clip and save this list. It could be vital.

Fretz Park Activities and Events
Fretz Park Library Report
The Principals' Corner

Income through August 1999 totaled $96,782. plus bank interest of $395 for total income of $97,177. Expenses for the period totaled $75,550, giving us net income of $21,627.

Expenditures for the completed Meadowcreek beautification project totaled $20,915; that exceeds the budget by $8,915. However, as planned, the City is reimbursing NHHA approximately $8,600.00. The City reimbursement is expected in September, 1999.

As shown on the balance sheet for August 31, 1999, the cash balance was $47,688.

Thank you for your support of NHHA. If you have any questions concerning your dues payments or NHHA expenditures, please feel free to contact me.

FORE!

NHHA GOLF TOURNAMENT IS COMIN' AT YA -- TIME TO SIGN UP AND WORK ON YOUR SWING!

Place: Ridgeview Ranch Golf Club 

Date: Monday, October 11

Time: 8:30 AM Shotgun Start

Format: 4-Player Teams Scramble
We'll make up teams or do your own 

Price: $65 per player 
Price includes Greens Fee, Electric 
Cart, Practice Range Balls, 2 Drink 
Coupons, Lunch of Burger, Chips 
and Soft Drink. 

Prizes: First & Second-Place Teams
Closest to Pin, 
Straightest Drive 
Raffle Prizes

ENTER NOW!
Name(s) and Handicap/Avg. Score:
________________________________
________________________________
Daytime Phone: ___________________

FUN!

BRING THE WHOLE FAMILY TO OUR FALL FESTIVAL OCT. 2! WALK/RUN FOR FUN PRIZES!

Walk/Run : NHE School Main Entrance. 
4:15 PM: Registration 
5:00 PM: Start Race at NHE School 
5:00+: Finish Race at Fretz Park 

Suggest contestants park cars at Fretz Park near picnic site.

Prizes: Fastest Male
Fastest Female
Fastest Kid under 14 
Fastest with Wagon or Stroller
Fastest "Centipede"
(five or more people linked together) 

Everyone wins an NHHA T-shirt! 

Picnic: At Fretz Park 5:00 to 6:00 PM. 
Bring your own picnic dinner.
Complimentary soft drinks provided 

Concert: Town North Concert Band
 6:00 - 7:00 PM

Everyone will want to purchase $1 Raffle Tickets (six for $5) to win a round trip on Southwest Airlines and other great prizes.

PLEASE SUPPORT THESE ADVERTISERS

WHO SUPPORT NHHA.

FREE ESTIMATES
BONDED, INSURED
DEPENDABLE

Comments? Please drop us an email.
Material Copyright © 1999 Northwood Hills Homeowners Association, Inc.