KGW8 How infrastructure and a name change helped transform Lake Oswego
"They literally could not give away lake front property," said Mark Browne, a volunteer archivist at the Oswego Heritage House in Lake Oswego. With more than 13 miles of lake shoreline, Lake Oswego or Oswego Lake, whatever you decide to call it, is home to some pretty pricey real estate. These days, homes sell for millions of dollars. |
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An attendees gets behind the wheel of a vintage car at the Oswego Heritage Council's Collector Car & Classic Boat Show in 2022. | Pamplin Media Group Lake Oswego Review Lake Oswego car and boat show returns this month
Car buffs and boating aficionados rejoice. The Oswego Heritage House Collector Car & Classic Boat Show will return to Lake Oswego Sunday, Aug. 27, and there is still time to register your car or boat for the occasion. READ THE FULL ARTICLE.... |
Genealogical Forum of Oregon The Bulletin Flirting by Fruit Box: An Early 20th Century Dating App
Every couple has been asked at some point in their relationship "how did you meet?" The answers vary widely--college classes, workplaces, church socials, dances, dating apps, etc. For one set of couples in the early twentieth century, the answer may have been "a strawberry box." Young women (primarily), who worked on farms or for fruit packers, would slip notes in the hopes of receiving a response from an eligible young man. READ THE FULL ARTICLE.... | ![]() Lucy Pollard in her vineyard, undated, LOPL.2016.3.2.470B, Pollard Family Collection, Oswego Heritage Council. |
C. Herald Campbell Heritage Champion Award Courtney Clements with Kathryn Sinor and Jeff Gudman at the Lake Oswego Chamber of Commerce Community Awards. | Pamplin Media Group Lake Oswego Review Community members, organizations honored at Lake Oswego chamber awards
Andrew Edwards capped the annual Lake Oswego Chamber of Commerce Community Awards with a simple message: “Carpe diem,” or seize the day in English. “Carpe diem is a war cry. Carpe diem invokes inspiration. It urges us to shed our inhibitions, have some courage and grab every opportunity that comes our way,” he said. READ THE FULL ARTICLE.... |
City of Lake Oswego HelloLO The Historian The Story Behind the Painting:Willamette Falls Painting Donated to Oswego Heritage CouncilMark Browne and Courtney Clements May 2023 The Glenn family, who trace their lineage to Oswego pioneers Waters and Lucretia Gurney Carman through the Carman's middle daughter Henrietta "Etta" Susanna Carman Magone, recently donated a family treasure to the Oswego Heritage Council. This image of Willamette Falls was painted by English artist Alexander Maxwell MacKechnie (1855-1893). MacKechnie worked as an art tutor to Etta Magone's daughters and died tragically attempting to save Francette Magone from drowning in the Tualatin Canal. She perished as well. READ THE FULL ARTICLE.... | Willamette Falls by Alexander Maxwell MacKechnie (1893) |
Ralph Holcomb (left) and pastor Jennie Ott (right) honor Mark Browne for the work he did to organize the church's archives. | Pamplin Media Group Lake Oswego Review Lake Oswego church unearths its past to prepare for future
To forge a path forward, pastor Jennie Ott said, the Lake Oswego United Church of Christ needed to properly consider its past. But with documents randomly stacked in boxes, thumbing through the clutter to find a clear view into this history wasn’t possible. So, in 2021, church leaders contacted Oswego Heritage House volunteer archivist Mark Browne. READ THE FULL ARTICLE.... |
Pamplin Media Group Lake Oswego Review Oswego Heritage House shines light on Lake Oswego women’s history
Because women were largely shut off from sources of power and opportunity until relatively recently, Oswego Heritage House volunteer Courtney Clements said histories of local communities like Lake Oswego often revolve around men. This is one reason why diaries can be an important counterpoint and supplement to traditional narratives. |
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Kathryn Sinor in front of the Oswego Heritage House, January 2023. | Pamplin Media Group Lake Oswego Review New Oswego Heritage Council executive director strives to make history accessible
Diving into local history, Kathryn Sinor said, helps us understand the world as it is today and glean perspectives that can make us better. “I love local histories, especially. I love the history of smaller areas that are really personal to people. It’s such a great way for us now to understand how and why we exist the way we do,” she said. “These local history institutions are a great gateway to that understanding.” READ THE FULL ARTICLE.... |
Pamplin Media Group Lake Oswego Review Walling family's legacy lives onNancy Dunis Jul 20, 2017 George and Frances Walling left a major legacy in the Lake Oswego area: Part of their donation land claim became the campus of Marylhurst University and the nearby Marylhurst neighborhood. In fact, the old Walling home served as a dormitory for students for many years. George Washington Walling was born Dec. 18, 1818 in Ohio and moved with his parents, Lucy and Gabriel Walling, to Iowa in 1828. Restless, the senior Wallings and their son George, his wife Frances and other members of the family headed west in 1847. Albert, the eldest son of George and Francis, was born on the Oregon Trail in Pacific Springs, Wyo. | A Marylhurst altar and cemetery stand on what was part of the Walling family's donation land claim in a photo taken sometime after 1937. |
Sheep graze below the Shipley barn in this early view from | Pamplin Media Group Lake Oswego Review Shipley-Cook farm plays key role for generationsNancy Dunis May 4, 2017 Adam Randolph Shipley and James Preston Cook were two early settlers who made significant contributions to the history of Lake Oswego. Both men traveled from Ohio across the Oregon Trail to settle in Oregon. Shipley, his wife Mary and their son came in 1852; Cook came in 1883. Shipley, who took a keen interest in agriculture and horticulture, was one of the first to import and grow grapes in the area. Fondly called "Father Shipley," he helped launch Oswego Grange No. 175 as a place for social events and a schoolhouse for local children. |
Pamplin Media Group Lake Oswego Review Paulings find eternal peace in Oswego Pioneer CemeteryNancy Dunis Feb 16, 2017 One of the world's greatest scientists, humanitarians, defenders of civil liberties and proponents of good nutrition is buried next to his wife in Oswego Pioneer Cemetery. Dr. Linus Pauling and Ava Helen Pauling were remarkable human beings, together and individually. Together, the Paulings played a key role in the establishment of a Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, gathering 13,000 signatures of scientists from around the world — including 38 Nobel laureates — in the late 1950s and early '60s that they presented to the United Nations, calling for disarmament and the end of testing. READ THE FULL ARTICLE.... | Linus and Ava Helen Pauling are among the many community members buried in the Oswego Pioneer Cemetery, |
| Pamplin Media Group Lake Oswego Review Lucy Pollard among area's first pioneers
The family moved from Old Town to a 10-acre farm on what is now Bergis Road. The property extended from both sides of Bergis down to McVey Avenue and was across from the Catholic cemetery. It was Lucy who found and purchased the acreage. "Lucy loved that home and the gentle land," remembers Theresa Truchot. "It had a well; fertile soil; and it raised good crops." READ THE FULL ARTICLE.... |
Pamplin Media Group Lake Oswego Review McVey Avenue named in honor of one of area's first firefighters
Arthur "Red" McVey played many roles in Lake Oswego, including janitor, power-plant construction worker, citizen advocate and preservationist. But his first love was fighting fires. McVey became a volunteer firefighter in 1911 and remained active in the Oswego Volunteer Fire Department. READ THE FULL ARTICLE.... | Firefighters Arthur Red McVey and Joe Nemec sit in a fire engine for a photo taken around 1946. |