Wednesday, October 14, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
7
Lodge at Suttle Lake sold to Portland development company
By Bonnie Malone
Correspondent
On October 4, with a clas-
sic pastel sky glowing bril-
liantly as the sun set over the
west end of the lake, Ronda
Sneva locked the doors of The
Lodge at Suttle Lake for the
last time. The collage of col-
ors reflected the emotions of
the founder and owner of the
landmark lodge that she built
and opened in 2005.
“It is like the old saying,
the best day for a boat owner
is when you buy it and when
you sell it,” she said.
The lake and the lodge are
full of family and recreational
memories, and memories of
the many young people and
local employees who helped
make it special.
The lodge itself was a work
of the heart. It was filled with
Native and Western paintings,
J. Chester Armstrong wood
sculptures and representative
wildlife taxidermy from the
collection of Dr. Steven Spear.
Sneva also instituted a very
popular annual Native salmon
bake with storyteller Wilson
Wewa narrating the Native
history of the lake and moun-
tains, along with traditional
Native dances performed by
the tribes of Warm Springs.
Sneva, who had been part
owner of The Boathouse
Restaurant, became sole
owner of the facility in 2003.
She invested in renovation of
the rundown diner to create a
memorable dining experience
that became a favorite locale
for both special occasions and
quiet casual dinners.
Later that same summer,
the B&B Complex Fire struck
Suttle Lake as it destroyed
90,000 acres between Mt.
Washington and Mt. Jefferson
Wildernesses and forests.
Although The Boathouse
Restaurant was spared, access
was closed for many weeks.
Sneva, who was able to
talk her way into the evacu-
ated area on the second day
of “no access” government
orders, passed the keys to the
restaurant to a firefighting
crew, who dined on five-star
food for the next many days
and continued to camp in the
building and use the kitchen
for almost two months.
“The food would have
been wasted,” Sneva said, “so
why not let those heroic fire-
fighters enjoy it?”
(Sneva owns an emer-
gency mobile food-service
company. There wasn’t a
moment of hesitation in offer-
ing firefighters the use of her
new restaurant.)
Yet, despite such obstacles,
the Central Oregon native was
driven to do more. As a child,
her family lived its water-
sports experiences at Suttle
Lake, and the lodge at the east
end of the lake was a vision
of romance and beauty for the
young girl. The lodge burned
in 1972, never to be restored.
The few cabins near the lake-
front suffered decay from lack
of care and use.
With The Boathouse own-
ership, Sneva felt a craving to
build a new lodge and share
the elegant quiet of the pris-
tine forest location with trav-
elers and guests, especially
those who enjoyed lake activ-
ities. She began negotiations
with the U.S. Forest Service
(the managing department of
the publicly owned lake and
surrounding forest) in a pro-
cess that took most of the next
two years. Ecological and
environmental concerns were
the primary focus. Septic sys-
tems, foliage diversity, and
traffic dictated the planning.
“There was so much more
potential there than had been
tapped,” Sneva said, “and the
vegetation was in desperate
need of rejuvenation.”
Noxious weeds and barren
ground, where local people
pitched tents and camped for
long periods of the summer,
had undone the former lake-
side beauty at the east end and
along Lake Creek.
“I am proud to have been a
good ambassador in the resto-
ration of both Lake Creek and
the lake itself in environmen-
tal improvements. I believe
our actions complemented
the recovery of both by the
USFS.”
Her development included
a new well and an Orenco
state-of-the-art wastewa-
ter system that was tested
monthly. Sneva also reintro-
duced appropriate foliage in
a cooperative effort with the
USFS.
Finally, the lodge was
opened, along with nine pri-
vate cabins dotting the forest
between the creek, the lodge,
and Cinder Beach. Three of
these were historic and six
were new.
The Lodge became a wel-
coming location for events
and fundraising in Sisters
Country. There were Aspire
workshops, sports fund-
raisers, and a Brain Injury
Alliance dinner among them.
As a strong believer in com-
munity support, Sneva often
hosted these with no rental
fees and donated meals.
In its opening year, the
Lodge presented the Sisters
Area Chamber of Commerce
Christmas party, in which
Sneva’s decorations for her
favorite holiday were in full
display. The gentle outdoor
lighting of the lodge became
a permanent fixture, an
anticipated signal of “almost
there” to highway travelers
heading to their eastbound
destinations.
In 2013, as water levels
in Central Oregon exceeded
flood stage, The Boathouse
Restaurant suffered severe
flood damage. There was not
sufficient insurance to rebuild
the facility with improve-
ments that were mandated.
The crisis changed the atmo-
sphere of the combined
facilities, with a huge impact
on function as a waterfront
resort.
Throughout the next
year, the resort attempted to
continue dinner service for
guests and residents from the
Lodge kitchen, which was
not designed for that kind of
food service. This unsatisfac-
tory attempt led to closure of
the Lodge, except for special
events and weddings. The
2015 season hosted weddings,
almost every weekend of the
summer and early fall, as its
only activity.
“So many things changed,
including within the family,”
Sneva said, “which caused me
to decide that it was time for
someone else to take over this
beautiful setting and promote
the resort.”
The right investors seem to
have been found.
“We are so pleased that
someone will restore the
resort to its full function,
especially with food service,”
Sneva said.
Robert Sacks and Dave
Schrott are the new owners
of The Suttle Lake Resort and
Marina. Their company, A&R
Development Company, has
been active in real estate and
business development in
Portland for many years.
My family is excited
to go there as guests
and support the
new ownership.
— ­Ronda Sneva
The company was respon-
sible for the renovation of a
1911 hotel for the ACE Hotel
group and the redevelopment
of a defunct bowling alley into
“The Lumberyard,” the first
indoor mountain-biking park
in the West. Their most recent
vision, Coopers Hall Winery,
has opened as the first “keg-
only” winery in Portland, ded-
icated to the environmentally
friendly wholesale distribu-
tion of wine in kegs.
Through the winter, The
Lodge and Resort at Suttle
Lake will be closed while
renovation is completed. SL
Resort, LLC, will be sharing
more information about the
new operation over coming
months.
“My family is excited to
go there as guests and support
the new ownership,” Sneva
said. “Suttle Lake will always
remain a part of our lives.”
Dr. Bonnie Malone, DC
The wind meets me in a thunderous rush of being.
Thanks to a lifetime of chiropractic and exercises
it is never too late to begin new life practices.
Serving Sisters
for 34 years!
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a tax-deductible gift for Sisters youth. www.sistersecreation.com.
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