Honoring Co-Founder, Virginia Cahow

Always in the Center of Our Hearts

The Clear Lake Area Community Center exists today because just over 25 years ago a small group of people believed that an old school building could become something more. They saw its potential, rolled up their sleeves, and somehow found a way to keep it going when there was very little money, few resources, and plenty of work to be done.

Virginia Cahow was one of those handful of people.

Alongside her husband, Doug, Virginia was there in the early days of the Clear Lake Area Community Center, doing whatever needed to be done. There was no long list of contractors waiting to be called and no generous maintenance budget to make the work easy. If something needed fixing, they figured it out.

Roof repairs? They tackled it.

A boiler was needed? Virginia and Doug found a new-to-them boiler in Washington state because that was what they could afford, and they made it work.

It didn’t matter whether the job was big, dirty, complicated, or completely outside their comfort zone. If it needed to be done, they did it.

But Virginia’s contribution to CLACC was about much more than repairs, boilers, and keeping an old building standing.

She served on the Board of Directors for most of its existence, dedicating countless hours to helping guide and protect the organization. At the time of her passing, she was still actively serving as CLACC’s treasurer. Her commitment spanned more than two decades, through changes, challenges, successes, and all the ordinary days in between that are what truly keep a community organization alive.

And perhaps her greatest legacy isn’t something that can be measured in years of service or counted in hours volunteered.

It is the people.

Virginia made friendships. She mentored others. She shared her knowledge, her time, and her willingness to help. She was part of a generation of volunteers who understood that a community center isn’t really about a building. It’s about the people who give their time to make sure there is a place for everyone.

Because of Virginia and the small group of people who worked beside her, the Clear Lake Area Community Center became the beloved community gathering place it is today.

We owe Virginia a tremendous debt of gratitude for everything she did to help build and sustain CLACC. But even more than that, we are grateful for the relationships she built and the people she influenced along the way.

Her work may be carried on by others, but her place in the story of CLACC is permanent.

Virginia will be deeply missed.

And she will always be in the CENTER of our hearts.

Caption: Doug and Virginia Cahow painting the overhead door to their shop in 2023.