Well, dear friends. The time has come. We are closing up shop. This will be our last posting.
On the heels of CharbonneauTogether.com, led by Jim and Sue Oberg, Lee Zinsli and all their many helpers, CharbonneauLive.com was born in 2013, as a community magazine and news resource website, and as a service to the residents of Charbonneau at no charge to any resident or organization. And this despite the CCC board at the time that thought we might steal The Villager. We actually offered to publish The Villager online and at no charge along with all their prospective advertisers — and did. But that was then — and this is now.
Over the nearly two decades, we posted over 5000 news items, featured opportunities for comment, and for many years added a little of this and that to spice up things, such as a contest to guess how many oak trees lined French Prairie. Joe Swyt, my dear husband, and now with the angels — walked the entire street and counted every tree and consulted the city records. Sandy and Joe Hoffman won that contest in 2017. Here is that article.
We published news from all over the region, for those that didn’t have easy access to local news, brought in state, county, and national feeds as those became available. Throughout, we tried to ride the careful line of not showing we were on one side or the other, but erring on the side of presenting the unfiltered information from Charbonneau organizations, local community, city governing, and social groups. During COVID, with the help of, Mediaphysics, we brought live Zoom and chat capabilities for all and for organizations who needed a way to keep in touch with their members. We published community tributes for families who lost their loved ones, kept all informed on local issues, became another avenue to promote emerging activities like the Charbonneau Arts festivals, how to apply as a volunteer to city planning and cultural groups, how to stay save during local emergencies — and so much more.
The representative Steering Team Committee guided the course. All of this was a “gift” to benefit our residents and keep open the avenues of information and communication. We are grateful to our many contributors and hundreds of followers over these many years.
However, today, there doesn’t seem to be a pressing need to continue this news interface, with most of the information now available in other ways. The Charbonneau Country Club now has a full-featured website, the City of Wilsonville too has grown in how they keep our city and surrounding communities informed. Likewise, our regional numerous cultural and social organizations have grown in their web presence and multi-media avenues for keeping us informed and in-touch.
And so, that is why it is time to say good-bye with our gratitude. We sincerely hope we have been of service to this community. It has been from the heart a — “labor of love”.
Our best always,
Elaine Swyt, Editor
Note: We will officially shut down the website on February 15, 2026.