Oscar's Bay Beach officially opened Saturday

By Ken Johnston
Editor

A crowd of about 100 people gathered near Bergland to celebrate the grand opening of a new park there on Saturday.
Oscar’s Bay Beach (Park) has been under construction for about three years. Phase I involved developing land 150 feet inland from the beach, which is on Lake of the Woods. The township of Lake of the Woods, had the land cleared, filled and grass planted. A picnic pavilion was also constructed.
Phase II which was completed this summer involved another 150 feet further inland, the development of walking trails and the erection of playground equipment. The park also features two rest rooms and will eventually have permanent barbecue pits.
Town Clerk Pat Giles was the Master of Ceremonies and opened with a welcome to all. He also noted that two federal and provincial officials, Tony Clement, Canada’s Min. of Industry/FedNor and Michael Gravelle, Min. of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry, sent their regrets. He did have comments from them.
Clement said, “The waterfront park project provides residents and visitors with a beautiful waterfront area to enjoy for years to come.”
Gravelle added, “Lake of the Woods is a great example of how our Open Ontario plan is successfully investing in local infrastructure projects. The new waterfront park has been great for the community all around: it has created jobs, it promotes healthy living and will increase tourism in the area.”
LoW twp. Mayor Val Pizey said the project began about a decade ago. “When Rainy River, Emo and Fort Frances all developed their waterfronts we said, ‘we have the most beautiful waterfront but no park.’” After purchasing the land on Oscar’s Bay from Ben Lindal, they started the work that came to full fruition last weekend with the grand opening.
The park is strictly a day use facility and users park at the entrance and walk in a short distance. Council said there are no plans to add camping into the mix.
Councillor Joanne Moen gave the audience a brief history of Oscar Langlais, for who the park, point and bay were named after. He was a pioneer that settled on Oscar’s point in 1896 and remained in the area for the better part of his life, until he had to move to Rainy River for care in is latter years.
Moen said the school taxes on his property in 1915 were $4.79 a year. In 1921 they were $11.01.
“We are grateful to Oscar for being brave to settle this community and I am sure he would be grateful for this facility in his name,” said Moen.
Dawson, Rainy River and Atikokan mayors all brought congratulations to the project and spoke briefly to the crowd.
Local resident Jill Wilhite spoke on behalf of the neighbours to the park saying, “This turned out much better than we expected and we like the way the township has regulated things.”
Mayor Pizey thanked Clerk Giles for all his hard work in filing all the applications for the project and complimented the contractors, Miller Contracting and John Sinninghe Construction and the township crew for jobs well done.
The first phase of the project cost $250,000 and was fully funded by the province. Phase II cost $180,000 and was paid for 1/3 by each of the township, provincial and federal governments.
At 11:35 a.m. the ribbon was officially cut by Mayor Pizey and the park declared open. A free community picnic lunch was then provided.