Historic Hood River
Lost Lake Road, 1920
4-3-2012
Notes
This Fred Donnerberg photo is described as being “near the end of the construction on the Lost Lake Road.” The three men are on an Excelsior motorcycle with a sidecar and a 1920 license plate. The boxes along the roadside are labeled “Explosives.”
l.e.
Just yesterday, I was reading an article about Wells Bennett, who was known for riding motorcycles up Mt Hood. His Highest climb was in 1924.
Wells and Mark Weygandt were good friends. Wells later married Weygandt’s widow.
I wonder if one of these men could be Wells Bennett.
Is that a cable running along the rock to the right of the motorcycle? It also appears to be a ladder laying off to the side.
Arlen Sheldrake
One of my memories of grandfather John H. Sheldrake was his objection as County Judge to ever paving the Lost Lake road. He believed that paving it would lead to an influx of Portlanders that would ruin the Lost Lake that he loved.
Yet another great photograph. Arlen
Arlen Sheldrake
Arthur, might want to add "Lost Lake Road" to your tags…..Arlen
Charlott
No none of these men are Wells Bennett.
judy
When my Father visited from the East several years ago we took him up to Lost Lake and he remarked "Well, looks like your Lost Lake isn’t lost anymore".
Jody Molenda
Fred Donnerberg was my Great Grandmothers Brother!
Jody Molenda
Can anyone tell me if this photo has Fred Donnerberg in it? Or was he just the photograher that took the picture?
sally hardenbrook
we would spend 2 weeks at the lake in the summer along with the button girls and never see any other people. dad would drive back to town every morning to work at the office .i now live on lost lake rd. so i feel like i am home.sort of like the salmon coming home .
Tom Kloster
I stumbled across a reference to Fred Donnerberg in the Oregonian archives today, and it reads as follows:
"Fred W. Donnerberg, Hood River photographer, recently penetrated the lake on a motorcycle with side car and took pictures of the new roadway. He brings word that the construction work has progressed very satisfactorily."
This was published on September 5, 1920 in an article titled "Road to Lost Lake Progressing Fast". The article quotes Fred Donnerberg extensively, but does not include the above photo.
Don Dillenbeck
Came across an article in The Hood River Glacier dated September 9, 1920.
The article was called "Beauties Of Lost Lake Described" The article was similar to the one in the Oregonian date September 5, 1920. The Hood River article talks about Fred Donnerberg making two trips to Lost Lake on his motorcycle. The first trip he took his brother-in-law, Alfred Dethman. On the second trip he took Herman Dethman, another brother-in-law. Alfred Dethman was my great uncle and Herman Dethman was my grandfather. At the Donnerberg was married to my great aunt Laura Dethman.
Jeffrey Bryant
A humorous article on motorcycles can be found here:
https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn97071110/1912-07-04/ed-1/seq-5/
Jeffrey W Bryant
This may document the trip:
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn97071110/1920-07-15/ed-1/seq-9/
L.E.
Since the photo looks like summer and not late autumn, I doubt if this news clipping applies to the photo. But Fred Donnerberg did make another trip up in November:
HRG November 18, 1920:
"….Only about a mile of the new road remains to be constructed next spring. Fred W. Donnerberg and Julius Abraham, his brother-in-law, from Albany were the last to motor over the new road this year. Journeying to Lost Lake Armistice Day, the men report the new grade in fine condition."