Omer S.A. Lavallee, C.M. 1925-1992
On May 6, 1986 Omer was made a Lifetime Member of BRS.
In Memoriam Omer S.A. Lavallee 1925 - 1992 By Fred F. Angus (Canadian Rail, No. 428 MAY - JUNE 1992)
The entire railway historical movement was shocked and saddened to learn of the death, on February 5 1992, of Omer Lavallee who was, without a doubt, the foremost railway historian in Canada.
Born on September 14, 1925, Omer Lavallee was the son of Joseph O. Lavallee and Florence O'Shaughnessy. Coming from a railroad family, his interest in trains began at a very early age and continued all his life. In 1942 he began work with Canadian Pacific Airlines, but soon transferred to the Canadian Pacific Railway (now CP Rail) and remained with the CP organization until his retirement in 1986. For many years he was in the Treasury department of the CPR, and one of his duties was paying the CP employees on the International of Maine division. Each pay period his home was Pay Car 52, that most welcome of all official cars to the employees from Jackman to Vanceboro in the State of Maine. In those days all payments were made in cash, and the exact amount for each employee was made up and placed in an envelope , to be handed out on pay day. As a symbolic gesture, some of the pay was in the form of U.S. silver dollars, recalling the pioneer days of railroading.
Omer's connection with the CRHA began in 1945 when he joined as member number 89. This was a time when the Association's activities and membership were at an all-time low after the severe curtailment of railway enthusiast's functions due to six years of war. However, by late 1-945 the war was over, and " new blood" and new enthusiasm began to foretell a great revival of interest in the post-war years. Orner Lavallee well exemplified this "new blood". Barely twenty years old, his enthusiasm and ability to organize was of immense benefit to the Association in this critical time . For the next twenty years, from 1945 to 1965, it is safe to say that no CRHA member did more for the Association than Omer Lavallee. During this time the CRHA resumed publishing a periodical; this was the "CRHA News Report", now Canadian Rail, started in 1949 and edited by Omer for many years. Excursions resumed in 1949, usually on chartered trains and street cars, and these were a major feature of activities until recent times. At the same time the Association's interest was extended to include street railways. Omer was a leader of this movement, and it is significant that the first piece of rolling stock acquired by the CRHA was a street car, MSR 274, which is 100 years old this year. This led to the biggest and most significant CRHA event of these twenty years, the establishment of the Canadian Railway Museum. By 1950 it appea red that steam locomotives and street cars would soon disappear from serv ice in most of Canada, and the CRHA began to consider whether its mandate to preserve railway history included the preservation of fuJi size railway equipment. After the acquisition of 274 in 1951 , the precedent was set and the formation of the collection was begun. At that time there was a great variety of equipment, still in service, from which to choose, and the selection of a representative collection was a formidable task. It is here that the expertise of Omer Lavallee showed to its highest as he used his vast knowledge of railway history to justify the decision to acquire, or to decline, the various pieces of equipment that were retired from service.
Having secured the beginnings of a collection, the major task was to find a place to keep and display it; no mean task when one considers the size of the exhibits. For this purpose a Museum Committee was set up and for more than five years it considered the pros and cons of the various possible locations, until the Delson - St. Constant site was acq uired in 1961. Once the location was set, the work of construction began. All during the first half of the 'sixties, Omer led groups of volunteers in the various jobs of restoration, construction, tracklaying and maintenance. This was in add ition to his work as editor of Canadian Rail and as a director of the Association; not to mention his "real I ife" work at the CPR. Many times his organizational capabilities and historical knowledge were called into use to solve some of the numerous problems with which the Association was confronted.
In 1965, the organization of the Museum was changed and , soon after, Omer ceased active participation in that phase of CRHA activities. In 1967 he left the Association altogether and concentrated his historical activities in publications as well as his new appointment in the Corporate Archives of CP Limited. I recall with sadness the departure of Omer Lavallee from the CRHA; it was truly the end of an era. However it was still reassuring to know that Orner was still there and was able and willing to help in historical matters. Since becoming Editor of Canadian Rail in 1980, I have often sought his advice and opinion regarding various points in railway history, and this advice has always been freely and cheerfully given.
Omer's career in CP Limited continued, and his true capabilities were realized upon his appointment, in 1973, as Corporate Archivist and Historian. As a member of a publishing company, he undertook the huge job of producing historical works such as "Van Horne's Road", "Canadian Pacific Steam Locomotives", and many others including some still unpublished which, it is hoped, will appear in the future. Upon retiring from CP he was made Emeritus Corporate Historian and Archivist and, in 1989, his lifelong work in the historical line was officially recognized by his being awarded the Order of Canada. In 1988 Omer had re-joined the CRHA, and had reassumed his old membership number 89. We all hoped for a further long association between him and the CRHA but, unfortunately this hope ended with his death.
For more than ten years, Omer had been in indifferent health, but did not appear to be in serious danger. He had been working on several new books, and their publication was eagerly awaited. Thus the news of his sudden passing came as a great shock to all who knew him. It is, perhaps a cliche to say that he was "cut off before his time", yet one cannot help but think of all the information that died with him, and all the historical works that will never be written by him. Had he been spared a few years more the railway history movement would have been the better. We have alJ suffered a loss, some as a friend, others as an acquaintance, but it is our duty to continue the preservation and recording of railway history as was done for so many years by Omer Lavallee.
A friend of BRS as Curator of Industrial Technology at the Canada Science and Technology Museum.
