Q: When were talks of creating Lake Panorama first started?
A: How about more than 90 years ago? The July 7, 1938, edition of the Guthrie County Vedette had a headline that stated, “Interest Growing for Lake Project” and a photo with a caption of “The Bayou North of Panora at 8 Foot Flood Stage,” which provided a glimpse of what the lake could look like. The article states that the project was first considered as a possibility when the Lions Clubs of Panora and Guthrie Center first discussed the idea in 1931. Of course, many decades passed before the physical work began.
Q: How long has the Lake Panorama Ski Team been in existence?
A: Informally, the team began in the early 1980s. In 1985, they performed their first official show and have been doing so ever since. Dan and Kathy York have been involved with the team since the beginning and still are.
Q: Who is Hughes Cove named after?
A: Hughes Cove is named after Charles and Nina Hughes, who bought their lot at least two years before water was even in the cove. Charles served in several volunteer capacities during the early years of Lake Panorama including as LPA president.
Q: I heard the LPA office used to be on Main Street in Panora? Is that true? And, if so, where was it?
A: What you heard is true. The LPA was housed at 108 East Main St. in Panora from 1974-1980 in the location where Exit Country Real Estate operates today.
Q: How much did the St. Thomas Moore Catholic Youth Camp pay to buy the West Lodge? And when did that happen?
A: The LPA sold the West Lodge grounds and facility to the St. Thomas Moore Catholic Youth Camp for $267,900 in 1983. The Youth Camp purchased additional lots later from the LPA for expansion to become what it is today.