A super exciting event is happening on April 26th: the grand opening of the Lake Oswego Recreation and Aquatics Center. This is so overdue. LO pretty much has it all. Beautiful neighborhoods, top-notch schools, wonderful dining and shopping, but it’s been missing a decent aquatics center.
There has been a pool at Lake Oswego High School, but public use is problematic due to heavy use by the school district. It was built decades ago, and it looks its age. So, getting a new swim center is a wonderful improvement.
There are 2 pools (lap and recreational), basketball, a gym, exercise rooms and Lockeroom’s.
The ribbon cutting is April 26th, 9:30-1:00, with ribbon cutting speeches, self-guided tours, and refreshments. The facility is located at 17525 Stafford Rd.
Living in Lake Oswego is an experience of community. That’s why we post these little snippets of activities offered by various groups! Here are my picks for what to do this week in Lake Oswego:
Mon, Apr 7, 2025 – 10:30 AM ~ Early Childhood Music and Movement In Mandarin Chinese (Repeats on Mondays )- This outstanding program is for young learners ages 2-5 ranging from little or no to high levels of fluency in Mandarin. The series includes movement, play, instruments and stories and is sponsored by the Friends of the Lake Oswego Public Library and admission is free/first come/first served. 706 Fourth St, Lake Oswego ~ CLICK HERE
Tues, Apr 8 , 2025 – Departure: 11:00 AM ~ Let’s Do Lunch!– Bring a group of friends or get to know your neighbors ! – This event happens once a month, and this April 8th you’ll enjoy authentic German cuisine at Otto & Anita’s Schnitzelhaus – Depart from: ACC, 505 G Ave, Lake Oswego More Info: CLICK HERE
Wed, Apr 9, 2025 – 10:30 AM (weekly on Wednesdays) ~Toddler Story Time ~ Bring your 2-3-year-old and have fun reading stories together and singing songs! ~ Lake Oswego Library/Children’s Library, 706 Fourth St, Lake Oswego ~ More Info :CLICK HERE
Thurs, Apr 10, 2025 – 5:45-8:00 PM ~Year of The Oak: Arborist Workshop & Film Screening ~Come join this free learning opportunity and film screening all about White Oaks! Doors open at 5:45 and event begins at 6:00. Refreshment purchases available/encouraged. Pre-registration required. ~ Lake Theater & Cafe, 106 N State St, Lake Oswego ~ More Info :CLICK HERE
Fri, Apr 11, 2025 – 6:00-8:00 PM ~Outside the Art Room – Teen Art Showcase + Auction~ Support local artists & benefit Children’s Healing Art Project (CHAP) by attending this exciting and worthwhile event. Enjoy live music, amazing art, kids art clinic & so much more! Applications for artists are open now. ~CCP, 1060 Chandler Rd, Lake Oswego ~ More Info:CLICK HERE
Sat, Apr 12, 2024 – 3:00PM-4:00PM (repeats on 2nd & 4th-Saturdays)– Lego Club ~ Open to Parents & K-5- Bring your kids for a Lego Adventure! Lego bricks & Labels to name your artwork provided. All creations stay on display till the next Lego Club! ~ Lake Oswego Library/Lower Level, 706 Fourth St, Lake Oswego ~ More Info :CLICK HERE
Bring your kids and stop in to the Lake Oswego Public Library any day March 24th-28th 10AM till 7PM to join Sarah Walker in creating your own vision of what a box could become! It’s the Cardboard Building Project! CLICK HERE for more info : )
If you follow local news, you have likely seen and heard articles about the controversy over public access to Oswego Lake. 13 years ago a local gentleman began a court battle to allow public access to the lake. After winding through various courts, a judge deemed that the lake, because it is navigable, is a public waterway. Over the past week or so, various kayakers and paddle boaters have been accessing and using the lake.
I feel like I see this from both sides. There’s an inherent philosophy in Oregon that water belongs to everyone. Oregon historically deemed many years ago that beaches on the coast are public and not private. If you can get to the sand, you can walk on the sand. This seems to mostly hold true for rivers, creeks and lakes as well. Certainly some bodies of water are so small that they are merely scenic and not useful for recreation. I’ve been in many homes that have small streams in their yards and no one would question that the property owner does not have to allow all of the neighborhood on their property to wade in the little stream. Their right to private use is just not questioned.
I think that this is the basis for the controversy over the lake.
Oswego Lake historically was a very small body of water. Much of it was marshy. It was enlarged and improved by the Oregon Iron and Steel Company beginning in 1850 (before Oregon was even a state). The purpose for the enlargement was to create a dam and to power the steel company’s manufacturing efforts. They cleared out the marshes and excavated to allow water to come in from the Tualatin River, to flow the length of the lake, and to exit via a dam to the Willamette River. With these efforts, the lake very much became navigable. But bear in mind that most of the lake is man made. It is also currently man maintained.
Silt and debris fills the lake. It takes man to remove the silt and to keep the water as clean as possible.
In 1942 the Oregon Iron and Steel Company deeded the lake bed and the rim of the lake to the Lake Oswego Corporation. The Lake Corp is privately funded by the people who have access to the lake via living on it or having deeded easement rights to it. The funds come from annual assessments that are privately paid and do not involve public money, such as property taxes. It is completely funded, privately.
If you buy a house on the lake you have a one-time fee of about $7500 and then annual dues of several hundred dollars. The easements are less expensive with one-time fees of $500-$3500, and then annual dues of several hundred dollars. There are about 4000 households in Lake Oswego with access to the lake.
In the many years that I have lived in Lake Oswego I have watched the water quality deteriorate and then be improved. For decades people dropped grass clippings into the water. Add to that the run off from fertilized lawns, and it created a smelly mess. The Lake Corp stepped in. They established rules to stop the behavior that was creating the problem. They put in several aerators at various locations to infuse the water with air. Several years ago they drained the lake and excavated the silt from the bottom of the lake.
The Lake Corp has a paid staff of eight people. To put anything into the lake, even a paddle board, you have to have the vessel inspected and then pay an annual licensing fee. This helps assure that invasive species don’t contaminate the water. The Lake Corp also has a security boat that patrols the lake during heavy use to assure that only licensed crafts are on the lake and to insure the use of life vests.
All of this is done at no cost to the public.
My question now is this. If the public has access, will the public start paying for the cost of maintaining the lake? Do people in Portland, Beaverton and Oregon City want to be taxed to maintain the water?
Yes, I understand the logic of seeing a body of water and feeling like everyone should be able to use it. But the situation at Oswego Lake is pretty unique. I don’t have the answer here, but it will certainly be interesting to see how it plays out. I also hope that people who use the lake will take every precaution to stay safe. I am aware of at least one incident in which someone chose to swim across the lake and got severely injured by a power boat. Is the public aware that if you are not in a boat you need to stay between to buoys and the shore line? Bottom line, in my opinion, is that if the public is going to use the lake, they need to start paying the cost of the upkeep, and they need to know the rules for safety if they go into the water.
This year is the 19th annual presentation of the Lake Oswego Reads event and the selected book is “How to Read a Book” by Monica Wood. It certainly seems like an appropriate selection! The book centers around a young woman who is released from prison. It’s about forgiveness, second chances, the value of work, and so much more.
The annual book is selected by a steering committee that consists of teachers, students, librarians and volunteers. One member of the steering committee commented:
“This book left me with a glow of love which I would wish the community to share. But the book offered more than feelings—fascinating content about animal intelligence, the prison system, Spoon River Anthology, forgiveness and redemption,“ relates Steering Committee member Cherie Dupuis.
The month of April is choc full of free events to explore the book throughout the community. There are discussion groups, an art show and the culminating event, a presentation by the author. Take the time now to read the book so that you will be ready in April. The library does have multiple copies of both hard copies and eBooks.
For more information about LO Reads 2025, click here.
I’ve been reading the LO Reads selections since the beginning 19 years ago. They have consistently been great selections and several of the authors have become favorites of mine, whose books I turn to each time a new one is published. I feel like reading is a gift that I give to myself. Enjoy!
Hunger Fighters Oregon is a local food resource for those experiencing food insecurity. Located across the street from the Mountain Park Shopping Center, 4 Monroe Parkway, it distributes food on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. They are in need of volunteers to help with cleaning and gleaning.
The cleaners work in small teams organizing the food donations so that the food pantry is organized and ready to go before they open to the public.
The gleaners travel to Gleaners of Clackamas County and collect the food that is donated there and then bring it back to the pantry and organize it.
Please also remember that donations are accepted 24/7 at the donation closet that is outside of the pantry next to the front door.
Living in Lake Oswego is an experience of community. That’s why we post these little snippets of activities offered by various groups! Here are my picks for what to do this week in Lake Oswego:
Mon, Feb 10, 2025 – 10:-00-11:30 AM ~ Exploring Creativity and Passion in Retirement (series-Repeats on Mondays ) Rediscover your creative self and explore your passions in this series led by the ACC’s Recreation Specialist, Nicolette Hume. Based on Julia Cameron’s acclaimed book, “It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again”.- 505 G Avenue, Lake Oswego ~ CLICK HERE
Tues, Feb 11 , 2025 – 10:30AM ~ Preschool Storytime– (Series on Tuesdays) Bring your 3-5-year-olds for fun every week on Tuesdays at the Library where you’ll enjoy reading stories, singing songs and enjoying this community-building get together. Lake Oswego Library, 706 Fourth St, Lake Oswego More Info: CLICK HERE
Wed, Feb 12, 2025 – 10:00-11:30AM ~Hybrid Genealogy Interest Group (series) ~ Interested in exploring familial history and engaging in genealogical research? This group meets the 2nd Wed of each month. ~Zoomand in-person ACC, 505 G Ave, Lake Oswego ~ More Info :CLICK HERE
Thurs, Feb 13, 2025 – 9:30AM-4:00 PM ~A Gallery Tour of Artistic Treasures (Feb Tour)~ Enjoy this exploration of a curated selection of Portland’s finest galleries ranging from traditional to modern art ~ ACC, 505 G Avenue Lake Oswego ~ More Info & Registration :CLICK HERE
Fri, Feb 14, 2025 – 7:00-9:00 PM ~ Living Well Dance featuring the Millennium Dance Band. ~ Come dance to music from the 30’s 40’s and 50’s with ballroom classics. All ages invited. $7.00 at the door. ~CCP, 1060 Chandler Rd~ More Info:CLICK HERE
Sat, Feb 15, 2024 – 10:30-11:30AM – LO Robotics Program (Feb 15 & 22nd)~ Ages 5 & up: Come learn how robots work, watch them do cool tricks & get to drive a robot around! There will be full sized and small Lego-Robots. ~For more info on registration email:info@lorobotics.orgWebsite for LO Robotics:LO ROBOTICS ~ More :Additional Info
This next week we will be flirting with snow and winter weather most of the week. Just over a year ago Lake Oswego had a massive winter storm that felled trees, knocked out power, and generally wreaked havoc. Those sorts of storms are rare. This winter has, in fact, been very mild. But you just don’t know. The time to prepare is before the storm hits.
Last winter my household was without power for 6 days. We do have equipment to cook and heat, all indoor rated, that require propane. We had to go to Hillsboro, a part of the metro area that wasn’t hit hard by the storm, to find propane. Around LO, it was all sold out. I never want to be caught in that situation again.
PGE puts out a really simple list of things that you can do to prepare for a storm:
Make sure that you have medication. If it needs refrigeration, have a cooler that you can put ice in.
If you have a generator, make sure that you have fuel and extension cords.
Plan to use flashlights instead of candles and make sure that you have batteries and back-up batteries in sufficient supply.
Make sure that you have drinking water.
Charge up your electronics and plan a way to recharge those devices. Get an adaptor for your car. Consider also having a portable charger. We found a battery operated one that could charge our phones and our portable devices.
Purchase ice or freeze containers of water to put into your freezer and refrigerator. Last year it was so cold that we simply bagged up the contents of our refrigerator and freezer and put it out into the garage.
Keep handy a list of important phone numbers such as for the doctor, hospital, and veterinarian.
Make sure that your car is accessible.
So far, the forecast next week is just a flirtation with winter. No major storm is forecast, thank goodness. We will have the chance of winter storms for about 6 more weeks, so plan ahead. Stay safe and stay warm.
Living in Lake Oswego is an experience of community. That’s why we post these little snippets of activities offered by various groups! Here are my picks for what to do this week in Lake Oswego:
Mon, Jan 13, 2025 – 10:30 AM ~ Early Childhood Music and Movement In Mandarin Chinese (Repeats on Mondays )- This outstanding program is for young learners ages 2-5 ranging from little or no to high levels of fluency in Mandarin. The series includes movement, play, instruments and stories and is sponsored by the Friends of the Lake Oswego Public Library and admission is free/first come/first served. 706 Fourth St, Lake Oswego ~ CLICK HERE
Tues, Jan 14 , 2025 – 6:30-8:00 PM ~ Pints from the Past: Oswego Suffragists-Meet the women in early Oswego who fought to better their community. Sponsored by Friends of the Lake Oswego Public Library. This presentation and exhibit explores exactly what they did to fight for the rights we have today. (Free, AND Refreshment purchases are encouraged to offset the cost to the lake Theater & Cafe : ) – Lake Theater & Cafe, 106 North State Street, Lake Oswego More Info: CLICK HERE
Wed, Jan 15, 2025 – 1:00-3:00PM (weekly thru Feb 12th) ~Living Well with Chronic Conditions (series) ~ This program offers tools & strategies through expert guidance, peer support and practical activities. ~ACC, 505 G Ave, Lake Oswego ~ More Info :CLICK HERE
Thurs, Jan 16, 2025 – 12:30-2:00 PM ~Poetry Group (series) ~ Bring your own poetry or bring other poetry you love and read it in this supportive environment. There is time for introductions, poetry readings and organic discussion every 3rd Thursday. ~ Lake Oswego Library, 706 Fourth St, Lake Oswego ~ More Info :CLICK HERE
Fri, Jan 17, 2025 – 10:30-11:00 AM ~Spanish Language Story and Play (series) ~ Jessica Amezcua from Adventures in Spanish shares songs and stories for children ages 0-5 and their caregivers. Repeats every 3rd Friday ~Lake Oswego Library, 706 Fourth St, Lake Oswego~ More Info:CLICK HERE
Sat, Jan 18, 2024 – 1:00PM-5:00PM – Teen Study Session ~ With finals around the corner, teens are encouraged to use this space to study and prepare WITH SNACKS! Quieter than with your brothers & sisters running around, and who can resist the snacks! Study groups are Ok too. ~ Lake Oswego Library,706 Fourth St, Lake Oswego ~ More Info :CLICK HERE
I don’t know about you, but one of my favorite activities at this time of year is driving around looking at the lights on houses. There are a few neighborhoods that are especially festive: Westlake, Palisades, really, most of LO. But there is a house that is really amazing. The owner’s go all out.
Officially known as Todd and MIchelle’s Winter Wonderland, it is located at 19242 Indian Springs: on the corner of Indian Springs and Child’s Rd.
There’s plenty of parking and the owners love it when people take the time to get out of their cars and really look at all of the displays. I don’t think that there is a square foot of house or yard that isn’t covered with lights and decorations.
Christmas is the main event, but these home owners also do stunning displays for Halloween and Easter. It’s really fun to make the drive over and take it all in.
