Sherwood Community Advantage Magazine September 2023

SHERWOOD

COMMUNITY ADVANTAGE

MEET THE ARTIST

Author Kelly Romo

LOCAL HISTORY

Pittock Mansion

AD & ARTICLE INSIDE

SEASONAL Back-to-School Tips

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

David Bates Patti Jo Brooks

Tyler Francke Olive Gallagher

Angie Helvey Lucas Holmgren

Robert Matsumura Dennis McNabb

Kelly Romo Ty Walker

Alice Williams Kerry Yu

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Sherwood

MEET THE ARTIST Author Kelly Romo

COVER FEATURE La Sierra Restaurant

COVER PHOTO: MALAINA KINNE

September is Library Card Sign-Up Month Closed Sept. 4, to observe Labor Day

Teen Book Club 2023-2024

Book Buddies Sept. 28, 3:45 pm

Adult Book Discussion: “Matrix” by Lauren Groff Fun For Ones Toddler Storytime

Sept. 13, 6:00 pm

Read to Mia The Dog Sept. 9, 11:00 am

Repair Fair

Sept. 16, 11:00 am

Micah and Me

Sept. 23, 2:00 pm

STEAM Saturday Sept. 30, 11:00 am Find More Info:

Paperback

A Fiesta of Flavor

Popular Mexican eatery opens second location

The first La Sierra is in Dundee and has been a treasured spot among locals since 2001. They’ve expanded their space over the years to accommodate more customers and eventually decided to open a second location. “It took us a long time to decide to open it,” explains Victor. “We started in a little place in Dundee, and now we operate in an 8000 square foot space.” Victor credits his success to his customers. “The community is what makes a business. And it’s not just about you getting support. You have to support the community, too, as a business owner.” The new location already has a local following. “We have a lot of customers from Sherwood in Dundee, and they’ve always said we should open a location here,” Victor says. “I was thinking about it, but then the pandemic hit. Now we are finally back in business!”

The menu at La Sierra has a large selection of classic Mexican dishes made with locally-

By Angie Helvey, Contributing Writer

Photos by Malaina Kinne

Sherwood is one of the fastest-growing cities in the Portland Metro area, and it’s easy to see why.

It’s a friendly and charming place surrounded by beautiful Oregon Wine Country and still has a small-town feel despite its continuing expansion. When restaurant owner Victor Lopez decided to open his second La Sierra location, he knew Sherwood would be the perfect place. Family-owned and conveniently located right off 99W, the new La Sierra Mexican Grill is open for business! Victor is excited to bring the best fresh, authentic, scratch-made Mexican cuisine to the Sherwood community.

sourced ingredients that highlight Jalisco Style flavors with an Oregon flair. Victor creates his recipes from years of past restaurant experience. “My first job here in the U.S. was a dishwasher, and then I became a line cook and went from there,” says Victor. “I use what I learned, and we make it better and make it our own.”

Customers especially love the Sizzling Fajitas with your choice of steak, chicken, shrimp, pork, and grilled veggies. Another popular item is the Carne Asada, flavorful top sirloin charbroiled in the special La Sierra way, topped with fried onions and green peppers, with guacamole and pico de gallo on the side. Options include delicious appetizers for sharing, small and large combination plates, tacos, enchiladas, loaded burritos, soups and salads, and crispy

tostadas. Classic seafood, chicken, pork dishes, and house specials like Molcajete and Chile Colorado are also excellent choices. A few American options and a children’s menu for the little ones are available. Enjoy a complimentary dessert on the house, or choose from creamy Homemade Flan, delectable Fried Ice Cream, or crispy Sopapillas.

The new restaurant features a familyfriendly dining room and a cozy bar area with TVs so customers can enjoy a cold beverage and watch their favorite sports. Outdoor seating and video lottery will soon be available. La Sierra crafts an excellent margarita and offers a full bar with an impressive selection of tequila, Mexican beer, and several wine options.

Victor and his team genuinely appreciate their customers and look forward to serving a new crowd in

Sherwood. “We love the response from our current customers,” Victor shares. “They are so nice, and they bring in new people. We have to help each other, you know? It’s very important to us to support our local community, and that’s what we want to build here.”

La Sierra Mexican Grill is open Sunday through Thursday from 11 am to 10 pm and until 10:30 pm on

Fridays and Saturdays. Happy Hour is daily from 3 pm to 6 pm, and features discounted drinks and appetizers. They offer dine-in or take-out and will soon work with third-party delivery companies and provide online ordering on their website. Victor also does catering, and they can accommodate up to 80 people for events in their Dundee location. Stop by and feast on tasty, fresh, authentic Mexican food with cold beverages and friendly service in this new family-owned venue.

La Sierra Mexican Grill is located at 20403 SW Borchers Drive, Sherwood, OR. Please give them a call at 503-8225162, or visit their website at https:// lasierramexicangrill.com/. La Sierra Mexican Grill & Lounge is located at 1175 OR-99W Dundee, OR. Contact them at 503-554-1562.

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Thrills and Chills

Local author is ‘thrilling’ to read

By Active Media Staff

Kelly Romo is a local author and retired educator with a passion for writing. She has always been fascinated by unique characters, stories and settings in books. Once her children grew up, Kelly went back to school. She completed a master’s degree in fiction at Pacific University and successfully published her first novel shortly afterward. She has published four novels so far: two historical fiction and two thrillers.

Kelly used her love of fly fishing and fly tying to create a bone-chilling thriller series set on the Deschutes River—complete with a serial killer who ties his victims’ hair in his flies. In the first two novels, she wanted to capture and incorporate the elements that make the Deschutes River special to her. She included whitewater rafting and fly fishing, the smell of sage and juniper, as well as the sound of a train chugging along the bank and the buzz of cicadas.

“DEAD DRIFT” and “I AM THE RIVER” are the first two books in the three-book Whitewater Thriller series, and they are receiving positive reviews. According to award-winning local author Craig Lesley, “Romo’s chapters with the killer are the most sinister I’ve ever read.” Kelly is currently working on book three.

Kelly incorporated fly fishing into her novels since it is an integral part of the Deschutes River. She says there is a natural peacefulness and release when she stands in a rushing river and casts her fly. Sometimes it’s like hunting. She watches the water to spot a fish or its disturbance on the surface. When she sees it, she drops her fly right before the trout and hopes it will strike. Other times, she dead drifts to make her fly mimic an actual insect on the current, drag-free with no tension on her line — which is where she came up with the title “DEAD DRIFT” for her thriller.

Kelly also ties her own flies, which are little works of art she loves to create. Her novels take a year or two to write, but she can complete a fly and hold it in her hand in twenty minutes. Since the flies are tied with feathers and fur, Kelly feels they represent the land, air, and river all bound together with thread and copper wire. Kelly needed a serial killer for her story, so why not make him a fly-tying serial killer who wraps a single strand of his victims’ hair into each of his flies?

Kelly’s second book in her Whitewater Thriller Series titled “I AM THE RIVER” just released this past June. She is also working on a third historical fiction novel. So if you love thrillers and want to read a book set in Oregon, pick up a copy of “DEAD DRIFT” and brace yourself—it is a wild ride.

For more about Kelly and her novels, visit her website at kellyromo.com.

Also Make Sure to Check out Kelly’s Historical Fiction Novels

Newspapers to Roses

The history of the Pittock Mansion

the time — many of whom leaned in the same direction. Over the next few decades Pittock expanded The Oregonian from a weekly publication to a six-day-a-week newspaper, eventually adding a Sunday edition due to popular demand. By the turn of the century, The Oregonian had become the largest newspaper in Oregon, in both circulation and popularity.

Having diversified his business interests into real estate, transportation and industry, Pittock had acquired a sizable fortune. It was this fortune that made possible the construction of his famous mansion. In 1909, Pittock hired the Oregon-born and nationally famous architect, Edward T. Foulkes, to design his dream home. The 16,000 square foot home, built on a 46-acre wooded estate, was constructed in the French Renaissance style on the exterior; however, the interior reflected a variety of styles.

By Robert Matsumura, Contributing Writer

The mansion on the hill: this is how many local residents think of the stately French Renaissance-style mansion with the red-tiled roof perched high above the city in the West Hills. One of Portland’s beloved landmarks, the Pittock Mansion has been treasured for generations, and is symbolic of the ambition, glamor and spirit of those intrepid entrepreneurs who shaped the city of Portland at the turn of the 20th century. But just who were the Pittocks, and how did they amass the fortune to build such a palatial estate in the first place?

Born in London, England and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, Henry L. Pittock learned the printing trade in his family’s printing firm while completing his education at the Western University of Pennsylvania’s preparatory school. By 1853, he had moved west to Portland, where as a poor but industrious youth, he found work at the Weekly Oregonian newspaper owned by Thomas J. Dryer. By 1854, Pittock had risen to the position of business manager and partner. By 1860, due to debts Dryer had incurred, Dryer mortgaged the newspaper to Pittock and departed town. Only 24 years old, Pittock had risen from a penniless transplant from the East Coast to the proprietor of Portland’s primary newspaper. It was in 1860 that Pittock married Georgiana Burton, a woman of privilege whose family had migrated to Portland on the Oregon Trail.

Republican, conservative and pro-Union, Pittock found himself in good company with Portland’s business elite of

Among the different styles featured on the interior were an Edwardian style mahogany-paneled dining room, a French-styled oval drawing room, an oak-paneled Jacobethan library and a Turkish smoking room with a hand-painted

Georgiana & Henry Pittock

was also designed to be a family home. While the third floor consisted of servants’ quarters and Henry’s office, the second floor included three separate suites, each consisting of bedrooms, sitting rooms with fireplaces, bathrooms and sleeping porches. Also on the third floor was a children’s playroom with space enough for riding tricycles. The underground level featured an oval billiard room with adjoining card rooms, wine cellar, vault and laundry facilities. In addition to the masterful layout of the rooms themselves, the house included technical innovations such as an elevator, walk-in refrigerator, central vacuum and dumbwaiter.

On the estate grounds was a fourstory gatekeeper’s lodge, and a three-car garage with a chauffeur’s apartment above. Renaissance style gardens and a terraced flower garden were accompanied by a tennis court and access to the nearby trails of what was to become Forest Park. Henry’s wife, Georgiana, a passionate advocate for women’s rights and a prominent local philanthropist, delighted in cultivating many varieties of roses in her flower beds.

In 1888, Georgiana founded the Portland Rose Society, and in 1889, as a benefit for her Unitarian church, organized a competition on her property for the best home-grown roses. It was from this event that Portland’s famous Rose Festival emerged.

Although construction on the Pittock Mansion was completed in 1914, with the family moving in the same year, Henry and Georgiana, sadly, were not able to enjoy the fruits of their labor for very long. Georgiana passed away in 1918, and Henry a year later.

Their family, however, continued to live in the mansion till 1958. The last family member to reside at the mansion was Peter Gantenbein, who was also born there. The house stood empty for six years, during which time it sustained damage from squatters who occupied the property and the 1962 Columbus Day Storm, which severely damaged the mansion’s roof. Recognizing the cultural and historic significance of the house, the City of Portland acquired the neglected structure in 1964 for $225,000, and in the process protected the 46-acre estate from developers who planned to turn it into a subdivision. Amazingly, some of the original craftsmen who had worked on the mansion were still alive at the time, like

Fred Baker, who had installed the lighting, and Bruno Dombrowski, who laid the wood floors. Both of these craftsmen agreed to come out of retirement to help with the restoration of the mansion, which took fifteen months.

Today the Pittock Mansion is a public museum that hosts 60-70,000 visitors per year. The estate has also been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1974. Due to its unique character and striking appearance, the Pittock Mansion has garnered the attention of Hollywood on a number of occasions. In 1993, the mansion was featured prominently in the movie “Body of Evidence,” starring Madonna and Willem Dafoe. The estate was also used as the finishing point for “The Amazing Race” in the finale of the show’s 13th season. In the literary realm, the mansion figures into the plot of local author/musician, Colin Meloy’s novel, “Wildwood.”

The next time you’re driving in the West Hills, and you see a sign for the Pittock Mansion, stop by for a visit. Enjoy the breathtaking views of Portland from the grounds of this historic estate where a young, industrious entrepreneur named Henry Pittock helped lay the foundations for the city we know today, and whose wife Georgiana’s passion for roses led to Portland being known as the “City of Roses.”

“Wildwood,” The Wildwood Chronicles

Written by Colin Meloy & Illustrated by Carson Ellis

Pittock Mansion, 1964

1. Clothes

Perhaps obvious, clothes shopping is essential for your kiddo every year. Set a budget, and let your kids pick out their favorites (within reason and appropriate for its purpose). And doing this late summer will avoid crowds, lines, and the anxiety of waiting too long. If your kids wear a uniform, get them fitted and ordered sooner than later. Additionally, go through last year’s clothes to make room for new clothes!

2. School Supplies

Whether your kids are homeschooled or go to public / private school, they’ll need supplies, and most schools provide a list. Writing utensils especially, such as pencils, pens, erasers, markers, and rulers are super important. And a pencil case isn’t a bad idea either to organize your supplies.

3.Homework Station

Create a quiet, comfortable space where your kiddo can focus and do their homework with little to no distractions. Be it a desk or lap desk (my favorite) for mobile studying, they need somewhere to work. The nice thing about a desk or lap desk is it works for homework, a laptop / tablet stand, eating table, and more.

4. Backpack Drop Zone

Kids’ stuff explodes when they come home, so having a designated area is key to keeping tidy. Set up a backpack / coat station–often using a coat rack and bench combo–in a foyer, hallway, or mudroom to hang their things, such as a backpack, coat, lunchbox (when empty), and more. This will keep the clutter contained and from taking over your house!

5. Adjust Your Schedule

The school schedule is 100% different from summer when the kids are home, so get ready for those hectic early mornings now. Restart the habit of making bag lunches the night before to save time in the morning, and verify their lunch boxes are still usable. And a few weeks before school starts, have your kids start going to bed earlier each night and wake up to an alarm clock so they get in the habit when school starts. A sunrise alarm clock will gradually wake them and also works as a bedside light.