Despite a last-minute objection at a Washington County board meeting Tuesday morning, a formerly unnamed lake in Cottage Grove will now be called “Lake Robert.”
“It’s a relief,” said David Wolterstorff. “It’s wonderful.”
The 16-acre lake, southwest of Military Road and Jamaica Avenue in Cottage Grove, just south of Woodbury, will be named after his father, Robert Wolterstorff, who died in 2007.
David Wolterstorff and his family started the lake-naming process about three months ago, he said. They filed the paperwork, talked to neighbors, gathered hundreds of signatures in support and got the proposal passed by the Cottage Grove City Council.
But the city’s advisory committee on historic preservation opposed the petition, stating that the lake should be given a more historic name. The committee suggested “Shepards Lake,” after the Shepard family who owned 140 nearby acres for almost a century before donating it to Dodge Nature Center.
“I can think of no one who has done more in Cottage Grove than the Shepard family,” said Bev Gross at the Tuesday meeting, representing the committee.
The council passed the petition on to the county commissioners who voted 4-to-0 Tuesday in favor, with Commissioner Jack Lavold abstaining.
Lavold, the commissioner for District 4, which includes Cottage Grove, called it a “complex personal issue.” He said he felt torn between his desire to name the lake after a historic figure and his wish to honor the rights of the property owners.
Although he did not vote, he said he supported the Wolterstorffs’ request.
“This petition is legal. It was created by good citizens who have given a great amount of personal time to this,” Lavold said.
Erin Ecker, David Wolterstorff’s daughter, said she understood the objection by the historic preservation committee, but felt that her grandfather, a dairy farmer and charter member of the Woodbury Village Council, should also be honored.
“The fact of the matter is, the lake is on our property,” she said.
Gross said she thought Robert Wolterstorff’s legacy was more Woodbury than Cottage Grove.
Wolterstorff’s German ancestors settled nearby in 1852. After serving in World War II, he went into the dairy farming business with his father-in-law, George McHattie, and brother-in-law Ralph.
Robert’s wife, Emily Wolterstorff, 94, attended the meeting and said that getting the board’s blessing was “wonderful.”
One of her best memories of the lake was her 16th birthday party.
“We had a powwow at the lake with wiener roasts,” she said. “I have many, many happy memories there.”
The board will now submit its recommendation to the state Department of Natural Resources. If the DNR commissioner approves it, it becomes legal in the state. Then, it moves on to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names for federal approval.
“If the commissioner says no, it stays unnamed,” said Peter Boulay, assistant state climatologist and geographic name coordinator. “But it’s not too often the commissioner would disagree with the county board.”