Talk:Valois, Pointe-Claire

Expansion of the topic, please!!!

It is great that Valois now has a Wikipedia page of its own; however this simple mention of the place says very little of the actual place. Is there anyone with substantial knowledge of the history of area who can contribute to this page?

I've heard many anecdotal stories about the place, and it would be great if someone knowledgeable could share this information online before it gets lost altogether: I've heard that before the suburbanizing wave of the Second World War, Valois was considered cottage country for Montreal urbanites, and that the area was largely composed of apple orchards and farm land for various local crops.

St. Rémy road, which was later renamed "Boulevard des Sources" was renamed as such because of a stream that ran under modern-day Chester Rd into Valois Bay (apparently people went fishing in this stream); and there were various parishes and general stores built throughout the years to serve residents of the area. Can somebody substantiate some of this?

Or how about actually delineating the limits of the area? The unofficial boundary is Boulevard des Sources to the East, Broadview rd. to the West, St. Louis rd. to the North and Chemin Bord du Lac to the South, right?? Can anyone say something meaningful about the history of the train stations too? Apparently it was originally located at the base of des Sources blvd., and it moved to the intersection of Donegani and Valois Bay roads in which year exactly?

Having a record of this information would be invaluable in actually chronicling the history of this very unique suburban environment. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.158.74.134 (talk) 21:32, 19 January 2012 (UTC)

Added a stub note Jmajeremy (talk) 02:11, 6 May 2010 (UTC)

No, stop redirecting to "house of valois"; there's actually a place called Valois, and this takes precedence over anything else. If there are other places called Valois, it would be acceptable to add those. It would also be acceptable to add a link to House of Valois. 76.69.171.103 (talk) 06:30, 13 April 2009 (UTC)

if anyone has something to add to this, go right ahead... 76.71.212.35 (talk) 21:30, 28 February 2009 (UTC)

Phil's tour of Valois is for all VALOISIAINS. Feel free to complete the picture I paint of Valois. ”When people ask me where I'm from I often just say Planet Valois”. A quote from Chris Thompson. In the early 1950’s Valois got its first library located on Summerhill Ave. and Queen’s Road. The original library later moved to the old school house on the corner of Prince Edward’s and Belmont Avenue. At the original library location, you also have the Valois Tennis courts which are over 60 years old and are still in operation today. Valois was still so new and barren that the roosters from the farm behind Parkland Ave would on occasion wake Elaine Paul from her beauty sleep, and one time some cows got loose, ran down Chester Ave. and then along Little Rock Ave. On Valois Bay Ave. you had Dr. Paul Gilbault practicing his trade in a house before moving down the street into a new medical building with Dr. E. Lerner, they were both part owners of the Brasserie Le Manoir. Dr. Gary Sankoff a Dentist also had a practice in the medical building which was across the street from the Mayfair Tavern. Dr. Paul Guilbault moved in there after starting his practice from a house up Valois Bay Ave., in a space he rented in the rambling yellow stucco house which was once the Bider’s household, and then later belonged to the Cooper family. Further north at the corner of Mt. Pleasant and Valois Bay Avenues was the house where Harry Jones, Valois infamous magician lived. Harry was a semi-permanent resident of the Mayfair Tavern as well. Harry’s “home away from home” is also a “home away from home” for many other VALOISIAINS today, as it was back in the day. The Legault Market was on the North side and was attached to the Mayfair Tavern. It was later sold and turned into a Metro Store run by a fine gentleman by the name of Raynald ?, does anyone know what happened to him? South of Mayfair Tavern, you would have found Bert Patterson's Garage, Bert married Mrs. Telfer in later years of their lives. On the corner of Valois Bay and Donegani Avenues was Laviolette’s, a convenience store where I must mention the 4 Ft 11 and 3/4 inch Cashier named Emma Derrig worked, and let me point out that Sean Derrig emphasizes the ¾ of an inch, as this was very important to his mother Emma for reasons you can all appreciate. Does anyone remember when John Schneider entered a car in front of Laviolette's, the owner had left the car’s engine idling. John wanted to pull a prank and move the guy's car on him. John however forgot to put the car in reverse and drove the car forward straight through the plate glass window and parked it on the cash register. Luckily for Emma she was off that day eh Sean! John got out of the car uninjured and high tailed it, and when the dust settled was John was nowhere to be seen. It took weeks before they were able to identify and track the culprit John down. No one was injured so we all able to have a good laugh about the incident. I don't recall what John’s punishment was. Needless to say John’s dad Duncan was not pleased when he found out about it. Perhaps one day the story will appear in one of John’s posts. Across the street towards the East was Jenny's Milk Bar located behind the Valois Drug Store, and Dr. Johnson a Dentist and Wilfred Eagle Construction were situated above it. Wilfred had his hands into everything. The Valois Drug Store was on the corner of Donegani and Valois Bay Avenues, and later became the Generations location. In behind the corner building in the back west side was the Valois Coin and Stamp Club located directly under the Craig’s residence. Across the laneway on the left (West) side was the Trading Post, a consignment store where one could take their gently used clothes and see if they'd sell, of course you could also buy all sorts of inexpensive clothes as well. The Trading Post moved many, many moons ago to Valois Bay Ave., next to and just to the North of the Mayfair Tavern, into a house and is still in operation there today. In the next house further to the North on Valois Bay Ave. was where Harry Jones lived beside the path entering Valois Park. Bill Price’s family eventually moved into Harry house after the widowed Harry passed away after having lived his bountiful life in Valois. On the right side of the building where the Trading Post was originally located, below Sandy Brown Arsenault residence was Bailey’s Photography on Donegani Ave. facing the Valois Train Station. I believe the Quilt Classique is located there today. Next door was the Old Post office building which became the Civitan premises when the new Post Office was built much further East on Donegani Ave. on the East side of Chester Ave. where the swamps and creek were once located. There used to be so much green space around Valois which was great for kids. It felt like real suburbia.

A favorite was the little creek and swamp across from the Dominion Store and the Hydro Quebec plant. There was a big scary culvert that we used to dare each other to run through that had such a great echo. Harold Smitheman was with his Uncle (Scotty) one day and stopped at the creek in front of Dominion Square and they just hit the fish “Pike” with rocks and picked them out of the creek. They loaded them into Scottie’s truck and we went down to the Maples Inn where his Uncle sold them to Willie Constant for the "Fresh Fish Special". The catch of the day they called it. Harold got a coke, Scotty got rum and cash. Those were the days. Anybody recall ever eating fish at the Maples Inn Bar and Grill/Hotel, now you know where it came from. Cross over Prince Edward Ave. to the East side and you would have found Valois first Taxi owned and operated in the 1950’s by Pop McGouran, Harold Smitheman’s grandfather. Then along came Fred & Helen Waldo to operate Helen’s Taxi Service, they had the yellow house on the corner of Donegani & Prince Edward Avenues and used as a Taxi Stand. Prior to being known as Helen’s Taxi it was simply a candy shop where you could get 3 blackballs for a penny. Helen looked a lot like a man with her big square face, dangling cigarette, work boots, grey flannel pants and plaid shirts, plus she had a haircut like Moe from the 3 Stooges. Fred himself was a huge man as well. Nobody ever messed with Helen of course. The Valois Drug store, the Old Post Office and Helen's Taxi Stand were across from the Valois Train Station. Across the tracks behind the Valois Train Station at the end of Valois Bay Ave. on the West side was a convenience store commonly referred to as Sam Drucker’s, right up the block on the opposite side of the street from Marilyn's Lounge. Sam’s is where one went to buy beer if you were a minor, pas de probleme. Emma and the other Cashiers would never sell beer or cigarettes to minors at Laviolette’s. Across the street from Sam’s on the lower East side of Valois Bay Ave. you had the infamous Marilyn's lounge, on a property previously owned by the Legault family. Marilyn’s was named after Mrs. Robillard’s only daughter who by the way is a member of our group. Marilyn’s Lounge became famous for many things but most notably for its hamburger as well as a place where it was forbidden to swear and in particular, the use the 4 letter words. If mom Robillard’s ears were assaulted with a 4-letter word, it would cost you a Quarter (0.25), and if you refused to pay and she would immediately kick you out of her well run establishment. She made a fortune and many VALOISIAINS can attest to that fact. David Keenan put it best as he describes, Marc Pellerin, “Pelly” as he was called would walk in and put a dollar in the jar right away and said mom “I am swearing at least four times”. The Legault family owned large chunks of real estate in Valois as well as in Pointe Claire Village. A few blocks over to the East on the Lakeshore Road was a Tavern notably nicknamed “the Bug”, its official name being the Green Hornet on the corner of Lakeshore Road and Milroy Ave where the late Ernie Whitacher, renowned Church caretaker and Mayfair Tavern Waiter lived in a house with his wife and daughter Diane Going back across the tracks to the North, next to Helen's Taxi was Mike Hyduk the Shoemaker and Nick’s Music Store sharing the same building. Here is where Mike Harris (Rabble) got to know John Pym (Rabble) while Mike was working there part-time around 1962. Glenn Greco from Lakeside Heights also dropped in quite a bit to Nick’s, for jams on the guitars Nick had for sale. There was also a Guitarist named Zeb Turner, who was older than Mike’s father, and had recorded guitar on a B-side on one of Elvis Presley's early releases or demos. Zeb Turner played his Gretch "Country Gentleman" at a regular gig at the Place for Steak on the 2 and 20. Zeb jammed at Nick's a few times with John Pym, Glenn Greco, and Mike Harris, mostly rockabilly tunes he wrote. This is what we could call the early beginnings to a group we all became to know quite well from our youth, Valois own “Rabble” as Mike and John went on to be our musical stars. Across the street from Nick’s was Lakeshore Cleaners, formerly the Black and White Restaurant in the 1950’s next to Bernie Ostiguy's house, that's where Art Giles set up his Barbershop. Beside Nick’s Music Store and Mike Hyduk the Shoemaker on the next corner was the Hub Hardware Store owned by Bill Boxall which had moved from beside McDermott’s and later became known as the Lakeshore Hardware. To its East was a Texaco Gas Station beside yet another Gas Station called Fina on the Northeast corner of King’s Road. Across from the Texaco was the Valois Fire Station which later became Scoopie’s Ice Cream Parlour in the early 1970’s. Across from Nick’s Music Store and Mike Hyduk the Shoemaker was the Legault Oil Co, P.C. Lemaire and Cooke Toledo Motors. Across from the Fina Gas Station on the South side of Donegani Ave. was a Sunoco Gas Station run by Gord Kennedy, later sold to Al Wilson. Next door East to the Sunoco was Mr. York's Valois Bowling Alley where Chris Coombes applied his trade as a Pin Boy. A Shell Gas Station was located to the East of the Bowling Alley across from the Valois Plaza. Next the Fina Gas Station you had a block containing Campbell’s TV, a Perrette's Store and a Bank, the BCN. Across from Perrette’s to the West of the Bowling Alley you had Mr. White's TV and Electronics Repair Shop just to the West of the Sunoco Gas Station. He could fix practically anything. Mr. White was an Afro-American. In the next section across from the Bank on Lucerne’s East side was Valois Plaza’s Lakeshore Bakery later called to be known as the Vienna Pastry Shop. There were apartments upstairs all along the Valois Plaza, the Smitheman’s and the Cooper’s once lived upstairs on the West end of Valois Plaza. Across the street on the West side of Lucerne Road, next to Dino's Barber shop which later moved to the Dominion Square, was a shop that printed logos on pens, etcetera. Gamma Photo’s was also around the corner beside the BCN. The Valois Plaza block was owned by Dr. Ranger. North of Dino’s Barber shop was Marika's Hair Salon and back on Donegani Ave. at the corner of Lucerne Road was Paul’s Cleaners at the west end of Valois Plaza, next to Zahlner’s Gift and Toy. There was also Bedford Interiors owned by Pete Neville’s dad and the Lakeshore Sewing Center later called Short's Sewing Center who in later years moved across the street next to the Bowling Alley. Next we had McDermott's Pharmacy which housed Harry’s Delicatessen, a greasy spoon where Gary Clark worked. Next door to McDermott’s Pharmacy was Morin’s Jewelry Store owned by Mr. Morin and operated on occasion by his daughter. The Morin’s lived up Chester Ave. near Belmont Ave. There was a stairwell leading upstairs to the apartments above the Valois Plaza. That is where Janet Kennedy lived with her sister Carol and her mother lovely Rita. The Patterson’s also lived up that stairwell. There was as well Dr. Coen a Dentist and an Orthodontist named Dr. Cohen, same name different spelling that applied their practice there. Then who can forget Dr. Metha, many of you can’t. At street level next to the stairwell entrance was the Walter J Cross Shoe Store where the girls purchased their Oxford shoes, isn’t that right Christine and Manon. On the corner was Templeton's a Ladies Clothes Store. The Templeton’s location later became the original premises of Fraser’s Cycle and later housed a Trophy Shop owned by Lynn Turner and her husband Mario. Across the parking lot South of Valois Circle to the East you had the A & P which later went on to become Fraser's new and current location. Fraser’s was originally owned by Ken Fraser’s father who sold it in the 1970’s, It later became known Fraser's Cycle and Sport's and is now called Source des Sports. Next to Fraser’s you had a Barbershop and Mike's Delicatessen owned by Mike Solomon, a real bugger according to some. Chris Coombes worked at Mike’s. Christopher was a child workaholic, working all over Valois from the Gas Station to the Bowling Alley to Mike’s Deli. If there was a job to be had, Chris had to have it. Chris was a very rich boy. For many other of us lads back in the day, in order to make some money we either owned a Newspaper route and delivered either the Montreal Star, the Gazette or the local Lakeshore News later to be known as the News and Chronicle or you took up Caddying at the local Golf and Country Clubs either Elmridge or the Royal Montreal on Ile Bizard or at Beaconsfield or the Summerlea Golf Course in Ile Perrot. Usually you would hitchhike there and catch a ride home with a golfer at the end of a day in the sun. On the Northeast corner of Donegani and Chester Avenues is the Bank of Montreal. There were a few offices including Dentists Dr. Shapiro, Dr. Leblanc amongst others around the corner from the B.O.M on Chester Avenues East side. Across the street on the North East side you had the Hydro Quebec Power Plant next to the Dominion Square which housed a Dominion Store, competition to the A&P and Legault’s Market. Located in the Dominion Square mall were a CIBC Bank as well as Betty Brite’s Cleaners, a small S.A.Q. Store, Janet’s Florist, Clement Eyewear, Cantor's Bakery where the 6 foot 2 inch German woman Mrs. Struebel worked. No one messed around when she was on shift. When you left Cantor’s and walked directly into the mall there was a Hairdresser’s straight ahead on the Northeast corner. You also had the Valois Delicatessen and a Chinese Restaurant called Young Garden’s run by the appropriately named Chopper who was a real character in himself along with Nick and Dino’s Barber Shop previously located on Lucerne Road, when Dino ran solo. Just East of Vincennes Ave. you had a BP Gas Station on the Sources Road West side. That is where Sean Derrig worked when he and Don Graham weren’t applying their trade as Pin Boys at the local Bowling Alley. The BP did move to the corner of Stillview Ave. and Hymus Boulevard only to become a Petro Canada in later years. Sources Road had just been finished in the early 60's as a two lane Road and there was no overpass. There was a French Fry Wagon stationed at the corner of Sources Road and Donegani Ave South of the BP Gas Station. A French Elementary school was at the foot of Sources Road at Lake St-Louis in Strathmore near the Girls convent next to the St-Jeanne De Chantal Catholic Church. For those of us that attended the French Elementary School Lac-St-Louis beside the St-Jeanne De Chantal Church and the Girls Convent which was run by nun’s, we used to have to walk down the 2 lane unpaved Sources Road, since there were no buses and crossed the tracks where there was a shack with a man who operated the train gates next to the 2 and 20 lights at the highway crossing. Heading towards the north near Donegani Ave. at the top of Charles Ave. and just West of Vincennes Ave. there was a creek that came up from the Lake on the North side to across from Dominion Square and the Hydro Quebec Plant, to the site that would eventually become the new Canada Post Office. In these swamps and the creek there was not much water but in the spring time the pike used to swim from the lake upstream to spawn. There was also a lot of Cray fish in the creek as well as pollywog pools. They pike fish could make it up as far as the Airport property to the East past Sources Road where there was a ditch that separated the farmland off Sources Road next to the Airport property all the way to where Townsend Stables were. You could go Horseback-riding at the Townsend Stables. The Belmont Ave. entry at Sources Road did not exist yet. Way over on the West side of Valois, where Valois Park was, there was nothing much between Valois bay Ave. and Coolbreze Ave. At the foot of Coolbreze Ave. however on the Lakeshore Road was the SS Venture Sailing Club for the many Sailing enthusiasts. South of the tracks at Coolbreze Ave. you had Sid’s Gauthier’s Dairy Queen, where Mike Harris had the pleasure of working as a youth. Beside the D.Q. was the Veterinarian’s where Dr. Caza worked in a brownish brick building. Just a stone’s throw away to the West of the DQ and Vet’s you had the Mafia run “Place for Steak” which burnt down one day when Mike happened to be on his shift at the Dairy Queen. Some enterprising young lad was buying cones by the dozen and reselling them to the people standing around watching the fire. This was during a hot afternoon. Zeb Turner wasn't there, but his vintage “Gretch” guitar got burned up in the fire as he had left his equipment at the Place for Steak after the previous night’s performance. Zeb was a regular act at that establishment and is quoted as saying that all that was left was the hardware - strings, bridge, tuning pegs, fret’s – so very sad, since Zeb played that same guitar for most of his career. That trek over the tracks at Coolbreze Ave. was also the route most of us took on the way to the Maples Inn Bar and Grill, which was actually a Hotel. Generally most youth’s stopped there for refreshment’s however on occasion some would trek further down the Lakeshore Road to the Edgewater Hotel which back in the day was a classier place with the upper class clientele. At night’s end leaving the Edgewater Hotel to head home, if you were on foot you would head just a few blocks West to Cartier Ave. and Hitchhike up Cartier Ave. and then East on the 2 and 20 to Valois Bay Ave. or Sources Road depending on where you lived. If you ended up walking all the way up Cartier Ave. you would more often than not reluctantly stop for a nightcap and close the Cartier Lounge in the wee hours of the morning, with the hopes of getting a lift home with somebody. In those day's everybody drank and drove, if you were stopped by the Police, the officer would simply tell the driver to take it easy and let you go on your way however if the driver was really drunk he would be asked to leave his car there and you would all have to walk the rest of the way home. The driver simply returned the next morning to retrieve his car in a sober state, perhaps a little hung over at times. The Valois area was sort of like a Peninsula according to Doug Smyth. Many Valoisiains moved away in 1970 just before the Army tank’s arrived for the infamous October Crisis. Many others fled shortly after the November 1976 Provincial Elections which brought the P.Q to power in this province. For those of you still living in Valois you must be proud to call Valois your home. But no matter where you are in the world you’re roots still lie there in Valois, and you will always be VALOISIANS. I hope I have painted you a pretty picture of the Valois you fondly remember.

Please add foot notes so that I may complete this picture of our Valois from the 1960’s. Please do not hesitate to correct me where I have erred. When all the new facts have been collected, I will rewrite the complete picture of our Valois from the 1960’s. I trust you have enjoyed this version. Philormonique (talk) 16:41, 1 November 2012 (UTC) Enjoy the read and do feel free to add your perspective after all it is your community.

                                                                 A Unique Community by John Gilmore

The tiny hamlet of Valois has always been unique, in a “quaint” manner. The residents of Valois have always managed to balance a life-style that is a reflection of two opposite philosophies; one based on old fashioned family life-styles (peacefulness, tranquility and no confrontation), the other based on intimidation, persistence and perpetual battle. This unique outlook on life is what makes Valois such a public-spirited and community minded village. Valois is, and always has been, an integral part of the development of the city of Pointe Claire.

Valois “The Early Days”

1600 – 1750: The maps of New France called the Valois Bay area Grande Anse. 1723: Jean Baptiste de Valois emigrated from France in 1723. He settled in an area along the shore of Lake St. Louis called Grande Anse, which was later renamed Valois Bay after him. The Valois family maintained this area as a year round residence. The land, at first, was uncultivated, no roads and no train tracks. There was a mere path joining Montreal to the Valois area. 1724 – 1860: The Valois family sold off some of their land and the area eventually, became a prosperous farming area that included beautiful orchards. The trail from Montreal gradually became a road. This facilitated travel between the two areas as the farmers sold their produce in Lachine and Montreal. 1875: The widow of Dr. Francois-Michel Valois built a small wooden chapel near Valois Bay in memory of her late husband. 1875 – 1910: In 1882 the Valois Boating Club (a private club) was formed and a clubhouse was built at the edge of the water, near the middle of Valois Bay. The clubhouse was used for the presentation of theatrical performances. Over time, the building gradually went to ruin. The building was eventually torn down in the 1930’s as a result of the depression. The Valois area became a very trendy summer vacation spot for the wealthy people of Montreal and the surrounding areas. This was due to the pristine waters of Lake St. Louis and in particular the nice beaches in Valois Bay. The tranquility of the area also promoted tourism. The Chateau St. Louis Hotel was built in the late 1800’s to accommodate the influx of summertime tourists. The hotel was owned and operated by Mr. David Giguere until 1930. When Mr. Giguere died in 1930 the hotel went through a number of different owners. The depression of the 1930’s resulted in the demise of the hotel and it was torn down in 1940. The Canadian Pacific Railroad and the Grand Trunk Railroad had also built rail systems that went right through the Valois area. The trains actually stopped in Valois. This also made the area very satisfying to the wealthy classes of Montreal. They would spend their summers in the area with activities like fishing, boating, sun-bathing and of course swimming. In 1893 Dr. Francois-Michel Valois’ son, L.J.A. Valois, rebuilt and enlarged the chapel that his mother had built in 1875.

Valois Bay Heights (1911 – 1919) 1911: The area known as Valois joined the larger city of Pointe Claire. 1913 – 1915: The original Valois residents were: Mr. Donegani – W. Kennedy – F.J. Robertson – Mr. Hunt – Peden Stout – W.L. Patterson – Charles Dobey – Russell Crowley – G.F. Patterson – Cliff Parkin – Thomas Dick – Mrs. W. Hall – W.L. King – Mr. & Mrs. Jack McDonald – J.T. MacDonald – W. Gough – C. Rudge – F. Cunnington – Mr. & Mrs, Alec Miller – Mr. & Mrs. Philip Sidney – H. Burgess – Miss Satie – Mr. & Mrs. Vic Costello – Mrs. T. Sheeley – Mr. & Mrs. Cardin.

1915: Milroy & Milroy (Montreal real estate agents) began the development of an area that became known as Valois Bay Heights. The first railroad crossing was actually located at the northern end of the street that bore their name. (Milroy Ave.) Boundaries: Belmont Avenue (northern boundary) Railroad tracks (southern boundary) Valois Bay Avenue (western boundary) King’s Road (eastern boundary) 1915 – 1917: No lights – no train station – roads were impassable in the winter months – there were plank sidewalks along one side of each of King’s Road & Queen’s Road – no inside plumbing – a public well on Queen’s Road. The residents of the other areas of Pointe Claire actually looked down upon the Valois residents. 1917: The Valois Citizens’ Association (V.C.A.) was organized and came into existence on July 19th. This was done because Valois had no representatives on the town council of Pointe Claire. The V.C.A. consisted of 24 members: original C.W. Parkin – G.W. Hunt – W. King – C. Sobey – M. Curtin – A.J. Gilbertson – J. Walker – E.G. Donegani – P. Stout – F.G. Robertson – A. Davis – G. Rundle – R. Denman – Sheeley – E.H. Staite – R. Crowley – H. Campeau – J. Jennings – A. McKay – Morand – Giroux – P. Thompson – Dr. Cleveland – T. Campeau. 1918: The V.C.A. organized a transportation system in order to take its area’s 5 children to the Cedar Park School. Edmond Morin built a chapel thanking God for his not losing any of his 11 children during the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918. Three members of the V.C.A. were appointed to a municipal committee that kept the Pointe Claire town council abreast of the happenings in the Valois Bay Heights area. The rest of the Pointe Claire town council actually started to wake up and take the Valois Bay Heights area seriously because of the vast improvements made to this area under the V.C.A. 1919: The Valois Bay Heights area installed its first 10 telephones, started to number the houses in the area, built 1 temporary bridge from the train tracks to the foot of Queen’s Road and another from the tracks at Sobey’s Hill. The first outdoor skating rink was built and it even had 2 lights for night hockey. The first local hockey leagues were also organized. The first Valois horticultural show was held in August. The residents of the area also had once a day mail delivery to the General Store, which was operated and owned by Mr. Keene. The store was located on the corner of Donegani and Valois Bay Ave. The residents picked up their mail at this store. Previously, they were obliged to pick up their mail at a house which was located on Lakeshore Road, near the Chateau St. Louis. This was very dangerous as the residents were obliged to cross the train tracks twice. (Going & coming back.) During the summer of 1919, the V.C.A. incorporated itself because it had started to buy land with the V.C.A. funds. They changed their name to Valois Citizens’ Association Inc. The first piece of property bought by the new V.C.A. Inc. was a parcel of land, which was located at the south east corner of Queen’s Rd. and Belmont Ave. The first executive members of the V.C.A. Inc. were Mr. E.G. Donegani (President) – Mr. W.G. Kennedy (Secretary) – Mr. W.G. King (Treasurer.) The other charter members were: R. Denman – G.W. Hunt – G.W. Jennings – C. Sobey – C. W. Parkin – W.R. Patterson – P. Stout – A.E. Thom – F.G. Robertson. The new V.C.A. Inc. also built new bath houses at the end of Valois Bay Ave. on the shore of Valois Bay. A new rival company was also formed and it challenged the V.C.A. Inc. This new organization was called the Valois Country Club. This rival organization got the shore rights from the Milroy & Milroy real estate Co. and then in turn, transferred these newly acquired rights over to the residents of the Valois Bay Heights area. The newly formed Valois Country Club then went on to raise $15,000.00 through the sale of shares in the new company. It then built a dance hall and boat house at the end of Milroy Ave. The new establishment was aptly named, the Valois Country Club. (Completed in 1922)

Valois Bay Heights (1920 – 1929)

1920 – 1922: As the population of the Valois Bay Heights area grew (from 10’s to 100’s of people), so did the boundaries of the area: Boundaries: Waterfront area below the train tracks (southern boundary) Broadview Avenue (western boundary) Summerhill Avenue (northern boundary) King’s Road ((eastern boundary) The Valois Citizens’ Association Inc. grew in membership due to the influx of people to the Valois Bay Heights area. The V.C.A.I. actually bought 150 shares ($10.00 per share) of their rival company, the Valois Country Club, in order to obtain a place to hold their meetings. With the completion of the Valois Country Club’s dance hall and boathouse in 1922, the V.C.A.I. held their first meeting on July 11, 1922 and then all their subsequent regular meetings were held at the Valois Country Club (in the dance hall area.) With an increased population, the V.C.A.I. concerned itself with bettering the lifestyle of its residents. They bought fire extinguishers and then in turn sold them to the people of the Valois Bay Heights area at cost price. They also convinced the city of Pointe Claire to give them a fire wagon with a hose. The city obliged and the apparatus was stored at the corner of King’s Road and Mount Pleasant Avenue. The V.C.A.I. then set up a volunteer fire force under the direction of Mr. Tiffany. A second volunteer fire force was set up south of the train tracks under the direction of Mr. Joseph Legault. Commercial endeavours started to spring up in the Valois area due to the increased population and the difficulty of travel. The “village” area of Pointe Claire was the commercial hot spot of the area, but the horrendous road conditions between Valois and the “village” made it difficult for the Valois Bay Heights’ residents to get there. Thus, commercial establishments sprung up in the Valois Bay Heights area, making the cumbersome trip to the “village” unnecessary. Mr. Banchand opened a convenience store at the corner of Valois Bay Avenue and Donegani Avenue. Mr. Joseph Legault owned and operated 2 ice houses in the Valois Bay Heights area one below the train tracks in the Valois Bay Avenue area, the 2nd was located in the same area but just north of the train tracks. Sports were important to the residents of the Valois Bay Heights area. Thus, the Valois Amateur Athletic Association (which was formed in October 1921) built tennis courts at the corner of Queen’s Road and Summerhill Avenue. A year later, in 1922, the V.A.A.A. built a small clubhouse (hall) beside the tennis courts. The Valois United Church used this facility for one year to hold their services. As the population of the area grew, the V.C.A.I. encouraged many major improvements to the area. For example, concrete sidewalks were installed along King’s and Queen’s Road. They replaced the old wooden planks that were in existence prior to 1922. 1923 -1929: A new school was built in 1923 at the corner of Belmont Ave. and Prince Edward Ave. The United Church and the Anglican Church used this school for their services from 1923 – 1929. On August 17, 1929 Rev. William A. Hamilton laid the cornerstone for the newly constructed Valois United Church on Belmont Ave. Likewise, the Anglican Church of the Resurrection was duly completed in February 1927(corner of Mount Pleasant Ave. and Queen’s Road.) The Valois Bay Heights area also improved Donegani (Avenue’s) road surface and the city installed a sewer system thus, enabling the residents, the luxury of indoor plumbing. In this same time period the V.C.A.I. also built 2 very primitive libraries: the first library was located at 27 Queen’s Road and the second was located at 2 Valois Bay Avenue. Mr. J. Victor Rouleau started a wood / coal dealership. His new business venture was located at the southern end of Valois Bay Ave. and Lakeshore Road. In close proximity to Mr. Rouleau’s new business, the Valois Pharmacy and Mr. Joseph Legault’s butcher shop also opened their doors for business for the first time. In 1927 The Canadian Pacific Railroad built the Valois train station on the northern side of the tracks at the base of Prince Edward Ave. At the same time the C.P.R. also hired the very first fulltime ticket agent for the newly constructed train station. They also installed a “wig-wag” light and bell warning system. In 1929 Mr. H.E. Woolmer bought the already existing convenience store from Mr. Bachand. The Valois Amateur Athletic Association built an outdoor bowling green beside the already existing tennis courts at the corner of Queen’s Road and Summerhill Ave. Valois Bay Heights (1930 – 1939) 1930: The Valois Country Club hosted the first “talking” movies in the Valois area. The V.C.A.I. aided in the establishment of the first Pointe Claire Branch of the V.O.N. (Victorian Order of Nurses.) Valois was now entitled to qualified medical assistance. The first V.O.N. in the Valois area was Mme. Rivard. On November 24th, the Valois Amateur Athletic Association met with the other sport’s representatives of the area at the home of Mr. McGillivray (King’s Road.) At this meeting, a new local hockey league was created. It was called the Lakeshore Amateur Hockey League (L.A.H.L.) Valois decided to put 2 teams into the new league, one team at the Junior level and another team at the Midget level. This league was affiliated with the Quebec Amateur Ice Hockey Federation. At the meeting, Mr. McGillivray was elected the president of the new league and Mr. W.H. Corcoran and Mr. J.A. McClelland were elected as the Valois reps. to the L.A.H.L. Mr. Gordon Ross was the rink manager at Valois for the 1930 – 1931 season. 1931: The V.C.A.I. finally purchased the 21 acres of land bordered by Belmont Ave. to the north, Broadview Ave. to the west, Donegani Ave. to the south and Valois Bay Ave. to the east. This area had been used for numerous sporting activities since 1917 but with the purchase of the land, the V.C.A.I. intended to turn it into an official park area. The first official home games for the two Valois teams were held at Valois Park on January 13th. The first game of the evening resulted in a 2 – 1 victory for the Valois Midgets over the team from Clearpoint. Wilf Heggie scored both Valois goals. The second game saw the Valois Juniors beat the Clearpoint Juniors by a score of 6 – 2. The Valois goals were scored by Kenton (3), Kennedy (1), McClelland (1) and Peagram (1). The 2 Valois teams had an excellent inaugural season in the L.A.H.L. The Valois team beat Clearpoint and won the Junior Division of the L.A.H.L. Likewise Valois beat Lakeside and won the Midget Division. Mr. Eddie McGurrin and Mr. Harry Corcoran coached the two teams. Mr. Keene (store owner) volunteered the use of his bus when the two teams were obliged to play in another town. The Valois Boating Club held their 49th annual regatta in Valois Bay and Lake St. Louis. 1932: The V.C.A.A. built a wooden changing facility at Valois Park for skaters and anyone else using the park. The Valois residents who were not fortunate enough to be able to purchase new skates or winter boots, could pick up 2nd hand boots and skates at Wm. Keene’s store at 8 Valois Ave. There was no charge for the 2nd hand equipment. The “Valois Hockey Club” changed its name to the “Valois Skating and Hockey Club.” Mr. Gordon Ross was once again put in charge of Valois’ rink maintenance. He was also paid a monthly salary. The Valois Skating and Hockey Club had 71 members enrolled in it. The following schedule was approved for the 1931 – 1932 season: skating (40 hours per week) and hockey (9 ½ hours per week.) The Valois area put teams in the L.A.H.L. at the Junior, Juvenile, Midget and Bantam levels. The Junior team played all their home games at the indoor Loyola rink and not Valois Park. Tickets to the Juniors’ games at Loyola cost $0.25 and they were available at Keene’s store in Valois. The Valois Park rink was officially opened on January 3rd. January 3rd was a tragic day for Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Forrest. They were killed instantly as their car was hit by a westbound express train at the Valois crossing. Their car got caught in a snowdrift and they were trapped on the tracks. Valois Park was officially opened as a “Public” Park, on Saturday, June 10th. The park now contained a children’s playground, tennis courts, bowling greens, a flagpole and a baseball diamond. A new convenience and medical supplies store was opened up on May 20th. The proprietor was A.A. Barker and the store was located at 48 Lakeshore Rd. and the corner of Valois Bay Ave. The Valois Boating Club held their 50th annual regatta on July 29th. The Valois Country Club held a raffle (November 12th) in order to raise money to help subsidize minor sports in the Valois area. The prize was 2 season tickets to all the Montreal Canadiens (N.H.L.) home games. The 2 seats were at the $1.50 level. The L.A.H.L. met on November 30th in order to prepare for the upcoming 1932 – 1933 season. Valois had 200 children registered in its skating and hockey club. Valois entered hockey teams in the L.A.H.L. at the Intermediate, Junior, Juvenile, Midget and Bantam levels. Due to the cold weather and good outdoor rink conditions, the season started on December 20th. 1933: On February 14th, Ken D’Albenas, a Valois hockey player (Midget) fractured his wrist while playing a game against the Clearpoint team at Clearpoint Park. On February 24th, another Valois hockey player was terribly injured at the Valois rink. William “Bill” Kenton Jr. (Intermediate team) had his left eye badly lacerated by a skate of an opposing player (Snowdon Stars.) Bill was rushed to the Montreal General Hospital where he received 12 stitches in order to repair the injured eye. The V.A.A.A. organized the first girls’ hockey teams in the area. The Valois Bantam Girls team played an outdoor exhibition game against a Valois Girls All-Star team at Valois Park. The game took place in February and the Valois All-Stars roster included: H. Nicholson – B. Brenan – L. Bowden – V. Scott – R. Campeau – E. Duncan – L. Chatel – B. Blondin – G. Campeau – M. Gough – F. Chatel – L. Hebert – P. Carter – V. Kennedy. The Valois Bantam Girls roster included: C. Lamarche – P. McClelland – R. Chipchase – G. Lamarche – H. Keene – M. McGillivray – F. Scott – B. Homer – J. McGillivray – H. Gorman – M. Giffin – J. Keene – I. Lyons – M. Gough – J. Hagan – L. Bernier. The Valois All-Stars won the game by a score of 1 – 0. The merchants of Valois hosted the first “Winter Marathon Foot Race” on March 13th. The racers started in Beaurepaire and ended in Valois. The Valois Skating and Hockey Club held a raffle (March 31st) in order to help raise funds for their club. The prize was 2 seats to the Stanley Cup final game and free train transportation to said game. The cost of the raffle tickets were 1 ticket $0.15 or 2 tickets for $0.25. The Legault family of Valois had a terrible year. On Monday April 10th at 1:30 P.M. Joseph Legault’s ice house (north of the tracks) burnt down. The loss of the building and the melted ice was set at a value of about $10,000.00. Mr. Joseph Legault was then killed in a collision between his car and a C.P.R. train in August. The accident occurred at the Valois train crossing. In May, the Valois area was vandalized by local neighbourhood children. The youngsters used small calibre firearms to shoot out the glass globes on the street lights and the windows of the abandoned houses in the area. The youngsters were eventually caught and their parents were obliged to pay for the damages caused by the vandals. The V.C.A.I. donated and installed a drinking fountain at Valois Park on June 2nd. Then on June 13th the V.C.A.I. held their annual elections. The 1933 executive slate included: J.A. McClelland (President) – Wm. Keene (Vice-President) – F. Cain (Secretary) – J. Jaffray (Treasurer). Valois Park was the sight of an outdoor professional wrestling show on September 10th. The wrestling spectacle was held on the baseball diamond at Valois Park. The Montreal Light, Heat and Power Co. replaced the city of Pointe Claire as the sole distributor of power to all the residents of Valois and Pointe Claire. Mr. H.E. Woolmer (a Valois mercantilist) was elected as the mayor of Pointe Claire. He remained mayor until 1935. 1934: On February 20th, A.J. Lamarche’s commercial enterprise closed. A liquidation sale was held from Feb. 20th – May 1st. Mr. Lamarche’s store was taken over by Mr. A.O. Payette. On May 4th, Mr. Payette opened a new Dry Goods and Clothing Store at the same location. (2 Valois Bay Ave.) 1935: Mr. W. Johnston opened the Valois Drug Store in April. The new store was located at 10 Valois Ave. Valois Park was the scene of an exhibition baseball game between the Valois Blues baseball team and an All-Star team made up of hockey players from the N.H.L. Montreal Maroons. (June 27th) The Montreal Maroons’ team included such N.H.L. stars as: Hooley Smith – Jimmy Rice – Dave Trottier – Earl Robinson – Russ Blinco – Bob Grace – Lorne Duguid – Babe Seibert – Nels Stewart – Baldy Northcotte. All the proceeds from this game went to help out the V.O.N. In July, Leonard and Kenneth D’Albenas, Frank Kenton and Urbain Molmans, all Valois residents, saved the life of a youngster in Valois Bay. The youngster’s boat had capsized in the bay and he couldn’t swim. The Pointe Claire fire brigade was busy in 1935. In November, the fire brigade saved the house of Mr. Robert Patterson (45 Lakeshore Rd; Valois) from burning down. The damage to the house was estimated at $350.00. Then in December, the fire brigade was called out to Mr. William Hall’s house on King’s Rd. The house was damaged by the fire but not totally destroyed by it.

1936: The Valois Skating and Hockey Club entered teams into the L.A.H.L. at the Junior, Intermediate, Juvenile, Midget and Bantam levels. There was also a newly created “commercial” house league that played their games at Valois Park. The girls had a variety of house league teams too. Valois held its Winter Carnival on February 28th at Valois Park. The featured event was a hockey game between an All-Star team of boys vs. an All-Star team of girls. In March, the house of Mr. Charles Barbeau was totally consumed by fire. The house was located at 8 Church Ave. in Valois and the loss was estimated at $4,000.00. Valois entered a team into the newly created Lakeshore Lacrosse League. The team was called the Valois Greys and they played against Beaurepaire, St. Augustine, Neville A.C; Lachine and Caughnawaga. All their home games were played at Valois Park. On July 10th, the Valois Greys baseball team played an exhibition game against the Montreal Maroons N.H.L. All-Star team, at Valois Park. The game was watched by 1,500 spectators. The same 2 teams played a re-match game on August 14th and once again about 1,500 spectators showed up to watch the game. All proceeds from the 2 games went to help benefit the V.O.N. The federal government built a new post office for the residents of Valois and the surrounding vicinity. The new post office was located on Donegani Ave. and opened for business on Friday, July 3rd. The first postmaster was Mr. Rolland Campeau. In October, Valois entered a team into the International Division of the Quebec Rugby Football Union League. The team played its home games at Valois Park on Sundays at 2:30 P.M. A new store was opened up in Valois on October 24th. The new store was called the Valois Bargain Store and Furniture Exchange. The store was located at 4 Valois Bay and specialized in the sale of 2nd hand furniture, paints and varnishes. 1937: Valois started to build more houses (March 5th.) This was the first time since the depression of the early 1930’s that any major construction had been done in the area. On May 12th, the V.C.A.I. and its sub-committee, the Valois Parks and Playgrounds Committee, held a special Coronation Day Ceremony at Valois Park. The ceremony started at the flag pole area at 11:00 A.M. In the afternoon there was an exhibition baseball game between the Valois Bluebirds and the Valois Junior Vets. This was in turn followed by fireworks, a huge bonfire and a sing-a-long. The daylong event was attended by about 1,000 people. Valois and the rest of the Pointe Claire area started to use a new “Dial-Telephone Exchange” system. Throughout the year the residents who owned telephones, were issued a booklet on how to implement the new system. The booklet was issued by the Bell Telephone Co. The new dial-up system went into effect at 7:00 A.M. on December 12th, 1937. With the new dial-up system, came the first telephone directory for the Valois / Pointe Claire area. The first directory was as followed: Corporations Etc. Town of Pointe Claire (Police, Fire) 302 D. Belair 446 Jos. Masse 891 Town of Pointe Claire (sec; treas.) 700 Bissonnette Garage 581 Jos. Paiement 485 Town of Pointe Claire (pump stn.) 701 Fred W. Bevins 2237 Peagram’s Transfer 2439 Railways, Clubs Etc. Leon Charlebois 435 S. Portelance 732 C.N.R. (Pte. Claire) 514 Cousineau Hardware 475 Pte. Claire Lumber 564 C.P.R. (Valois) 633 David Goodyer 383 Pte. Claire Taxi 454 Catholic School 857 D. Demers (butcher) 372 Thos. Pewtress Catholic Board (sec; treas.) 777 D. Demers (res.) 431 (florist) 2112 Catholic Board (trustees) 532 A. Desparois 395 Marguerite Protestant School Commissioners 660 M. DeVito Cons. Ltd 2579 (Hairdresser Parlour) 2334 The Edgewater Club 450 Eclipse Laundry 685 H. Rose 514 The Maples Inn 2515 Fuger & Smith Ltd. 757 R. St. Jacques Banque Canadienne Nationale 768 Wm. Keene 2444 (radios) 423 Beaconsfield Golf Club Inc. 341 Thos. Lagace 533 B.F. Runkle Lakeview Protestant Cemetery 512 Lakeshore Valet Ser. 770 (Real Estate) 2423 Montreal Light, Heat & Power Corp. 571 Emile Legault 357 Lakeshore Press Reg. 685 Pointe Claire Curling Club 491 J.H. Linssen 500 (after hours) 817 Valois Country Club 2495 Maple Ice Cream Poirier Barber Shop 529 Parlour 798 Wm. Wilson 2442 J.A. Bean 2491 Martin Drug Store 881 1938: With the increased population of Valois, the Provincial Transport Company was obliged to offer better bus service between Montreal and Ste. Anne de Bellevue. April 1st, the following new and improved bus schedule was offered to the residents of the Valois area.

     Montreal to Ste. Anne de Bellevue			      Ste. Anne de Bellevue to Montreal

(with stops at Valois at the following times) (with stops at Valois at the following times) 7:35 A.M. 6:27 A.M. 10:05 A.M. 6:57 A.M. 10:50 A.M. 7:52 A.M. 11:33 A.M. 7:57 A.M. 1:05 P.M. 8:57 A.M. 2:18 P.M. 9:57 A.M. 5:05 P.M. 11:12 A.M. 5:33 P.M. 12:37 P.M. 6:05 P.M. 1:07 P.M. 6:35 P.M. 2:27 P.M. 7:05 P.M. 4:27 P.M. 8:48 P.M. 6:52 P.M. 11:33 P.M. 7:22 P.M. 12:33 P.M. 9:42 P.M. 10:42 P.M. The V.C.A.I. and the Valois Parks and Playground Committee held a big fair at Valois Park. The fair lasted from Saturday, July 2nd – Saturday, July 9th and it included numerous games and activities for the entire family. All the proceeds from this event were used to subsidize the various sports organizations in the Valois area. In November, Mr. F.A. Bider’s (48 Valois Ave.) automobile was hit by a train, while crossing the Valois train tracks. The collision threw him 140 feet from the impact zone but he miraculously survived the crash. The Valois Amateur Athletic Association was honoured for being the largest athletic organization in the Pointe Claire community. A parking lot was built at the southern end of Valois Park, off of Donegani Ave. The parking lot was built in order to eliminate the local residents from driving their cars through the park area in order to get to and from the local trains. 1939: On August 24th, an exhibition baseball game was played at Valois Park between an All-Star team made up of N.H.L. hockey players and an All-Star team made up of players from the Valois Married Men’s Softball League. The game was watched by over 800 spectators and all the profits from the game were donated to the V.O.N. On September 18th, Mrs. J.F. Brennan (55 years old) was struck and killed instantly at the Valois train station. She was trying to catch a train into Montreal, but she failed to look in the other direction and she was struck by a westbound express train. On October 13th, a list of the Valois residents, who had volunteered for service overseas in the war effort, included the following names: D. Benton R.H.C. Black Watch R. Birse C.O.T.C. H. Davidson R.C.A.S.C. A. Gough R.S.M. R.C.A. C. Gough R.C.D. M.E. Genois R.C.C.S. G. Griffiths R.C.C.S. J. Mackie R.C.A. D. McClelland R.C.A. A. McClelland Major R.C.H. W.P. McClelland Lieut. R.C.H. Miss E. Patterson V.A.D. Miss M. Dye V.A.D.

In December, a fire completely destroyed the home of Mr. and Mrs. G.A. Amos. (32 Prince Edward Ave.)

Valois Bay Heights (1940 – 1949) 1940: The Chateau St. Louis Hotel was torn down in order to facilitate the construction of the new highway from Montreal to Toronto. Mr. Keene’s store was also demolished for the same reason in November. The V.C.A.I. parks and playgrounds committee had problems finding people to volunteer, to keep the Valois Park rinks and changing room operational for the 1940 – 1941 skating and hockey season. Since no one had volunteered, the V.C.A.I. threatened to close the rinks and changing room for the upcoming skating and hockey season. On Saturday, November 16th at 3:00 P.M. all the children in the Valois area met at the Valois chalet (changing room) and demonstrated about the possibility of having no rinks in the winter. The demonstration worked and volunteers came forth to operate the rinks and chalet for the 1940 – 1941 season. By December 1940, the following residents of Valois had volunteered for service overseas in the war effort. Russell Baxter R.C.A.F. H. Burman C.M.C.R. Edmund D’Albenas R.C.A.F. Kenneth D’Albenas R.C.M.P. E.A. Good Lieu. R.A.F. D.E. Guiton Gen. R.C.A. M. King R.M.R. David LaDuke Cpl. R.C.A.S.C. L. Hutchison R.C.A.M.C. Ernest Lockyer R.C.A.F. Vernon R. Lockyer R.C.A.F. W.R. Lockyer R.C.A.F. E. McClelland Sec. Lieu. R.H.C. M.S. MacDonald C.M.C.R. W.E. Robertson Gen. R.C.N.V.R. W. Wells Ernest White L.Cpl. R.C.C.S. 1941: The fire brigade was kept busy when the Valois Country Club burned down. It was never rebuilt. On Wednesday, April 30th, Mrs. A.K. Cahoon’s house caught fire. The fire department saved most of the 2 storey house from burning. The damage was estimated at $1,500.00. (16 Lakeshore Rd; Valois) 1942 On March 1st, new taxi rates went into effect in the Valois / Pointe Claire area. The new rates reflected the higher costs of oil and gas, as a result of the war efforts. Fuel was in short supply. The new charges for a taxi ride in Valois / Pointe Claire were now: Weekly Ride $1.25 per person 1 person (minimum) $0.25 2 people (minimum) $0.35 3 people (minimum) $0.45 4 people (minimum) $0.50 The 2 major taxi companies in Valois at the time were, the Pointe Claire Taxi Company owned and operated by H. Larmer and the Lakeshore Taxi Company, owned and operated by A. Vallee. Similarly, to save fuel for the war effort, in March, the C.P.R. (Canadian Pacific Railroad) eliminated 2 commuter trains between Montreal and Rigaud. Valois citizens were affected by this move. The two trains that were eliminated were: Train # 521 Montreal (Windsor Station) to Rigaud Daily 6:15 P.M. Train # 533 Montreal (Windsor station) to Rigaud Sat. only 6:20 P.M. On April 3, Constable Legault of the Pointe Claire Police Force caught thieves in the act of robbing Dr. Martin’s Drug Store (Valois). He pulled out his revolver, the thieves ran away, stole Rev. V.C. Rose’s car and got away. The thieves left all the stolen goods behind in their car. The “loot” was estimated at $500.00. 1944: The Valois area and the rest of Montreal was hit by the worst ice storm ever recorded. 1945: The police were called to Valois Park in order to deal with people that were riding their horses illegally in the park area. Eddie Emberg of Valois played 2 National Hockey League games with the Montreal Canadiens, during the 1944 – 1945 playoffs against Toronto. He scored 1 goal against Toronto goalie Frank McCool. He wore jersey #14. 1946: In February, the V.C.A.I. considered building a war memorial, which was to be built in Valois Park. On March 25th, the Valois School was granted its own Home & School Association by the Quebec Federation of Home & Schools Association. The original Valois Home & School Association was made up of the following volunteers: Lawrence Thor President Mrs. D. Shand Corresponding Secretary Mr. Dunn Vice-President Mr. T. Haywood Treasurer W.H. Ricketts Hon. President F. Hutchings Membership Committee Rev. S. Machin Hon. Vice-President Mrs. R.H. Beckett Membership Committee Rev. B. Harrison Hon. Vice-President Mrs. S. Harterre Recording Secretary I. Stockwell 2nd Vice-President H. Johansson 2nd Vice-President John Dale School Social Committee D.B. Macfarlane Publicity Doug Shand Publicity

       The fees to join the Valois Home & School were set at $0.50 per person / $1.00 per family.

The Valois Citizens’ Association Inc. had 80 members in 1946. Its executive officers were: John Burgess President Mr. W.H.C. Dunn Vice-President Mr. W.H. Hopkins Corresponding Secretary Mr. Sylvestre Harterre Recording Secretary Mr. Stanley Treasurer The V.C.A.I.’s parks and playgrounds committee was responsible for building new rinks and for refurbishing the clubhouse at Valois Park. The total cost was $500.00. The members of the parks and playgrounds committee were: Gene Anderson William Hawkins Arthur Tierney J.J. Kelly Fred Neilson Ernest White Walter Devereux William Kenton Dave Macfarlane From July 3rd – 6th, the V.C.A.I; held a “Tombola” (fair) at Valois Park. This was the first post-war era fair to be held at the park. The fair was one way of raising funds to cover the operating costs of the many V.C.A.I. sponsored clubs and organizations. The Tombola made a profit of $850.00. On October 2nd, the Valois United Church held a mortgage burning ceremony. On Sunday, November 17th, Valois was powerless for 2 hours. An automobile crashed into a pole on Lakeshore Rd. and knocked down the pole and a transformer. It took Hydro Quebec 2 hours to repair the damage and restore power to the residents of Valois. The total damage was estimated at $700.00. 1947: On Thursday, February 27th a new store opened up in the Valois area. The store was called the Valois General Store (20 Donegani Ave. and corner of Queen’s Rd.) and it sold groceries, dry goods and hardware items. The Valois United Church held its first major fair on the church grounds and in the church hall for 2 days, Friday, April 18th and Saturday April 19th. The fair included games, sales of plants and garden supplies, country store goods and food booths. The V.C.A.I. held a giant airshow at Valois Park on May 24th. The show included model airplanes, the Canadian Air Cadets, members from the Royal Canadian Air Force and even a 30 foot glider. The afternoon was occupied with a variety of sporting events for the children and the evening was taken up with a bonfire and fireworks. The V.C.A.I. held its first ever street dance in the circle area at the top of Queen’s and King’s Rd. on July 5th. The people danced to old time tunes and even modern jive and jitterbug music, which was played over 2 giant P.A. systems. The event was attended by over 600 adults and youngsters. The V.C.A.I. held its first ever military tattoo at Valois Park on July 2nd. The Royal Montreal Regiment bugle corps was the highlight of the event. In August, the V.C.A.I. held its first post-war era swimming & diving meet. It was held off the pier in Valois Bay. The V.C.A.I. members who made this event possible were: James Ovenden – Ian Brown – Walter Grayson – William Hawkins – Robert Tomlinson – Dave Macfarlane – Mrs. Robert Tomlinson. The winners of the events were: Junior Swimming Speed & Style Endurance Girls Swimming Special Diving & Swimming Ross Hawkins (1st) Donald Mann (1st) Don Mann (1st) Shirley Dalrymple (1st) Carol Griffiths (trophy) Donald Grayson (2nd) Russel Haines (2nd) Lorne Lyndon (2nd) Joan Wilson (2nd) Special Award Swimming Jim Lawlor (3rd) Doug Griffith (3rd) Russel Haines (3rd) Norma Burns (3rd) Shirley Dalrymple The V.C.A.I. held a Labour Day track & field meet at Valois Park on September 1st. There were numerous sporting events for the youngsters of the Valois area. The winners were presented with trophies, ribbons and prizes. The Valois boxing club also held 5 boxing bouts throughout the day long event. The V.C.A.I. hosted a refreshment booth in order to raise funds for all their sponsored events. The Lakeshore Flyers football team played its first home game of the season at Valois Park on Saturday, October 4th at 2:30 P.M. They opened their season against the N.D.G. Maple Leafs. In November, the V.C.A.I. built an entrance porch on the Valois library on Queen’s Rd. Claude Ranger’s, Pointe Claire Enterprise Co; built 22 new houses to the west of Broadview Ave. They were completed by the early 1950’s. This was necessary as many of the returning World War II veterans chose to settle in the Valois area due to its tranquility, combined with the close proximity to Montreal. (Metropolitan Highway, trains and buses.) 1948: Pointe Claire Enterprises built more homes to the west of its Parkdale Ave. development. They built approximately 60 new homes. The little wooden chapel built by the widow of Dr. Francois-Michel Valois (1875) was demolished. The Valois Home & School Association petitioned for a new school to be built. This was done for 2 reasons, the first being that the school was overcrowded. There were 112 students split between 4 rooms. The 2nd reason being, that the population was growing (Baby Boom) and the already overcrowded school, was supposed to accommodate another 41 students in 1948 – 1949. On January 18th, thieves broke into Dr. Charles’ house (Lakeshore Rd.) and robbed the residence of jewellery and savings bonds. No one was home at the time of the robbery. The V.C.A.I. held its 4th annual Winter Carnival at Valois Park on February 18th. The Valois United Church held its annual Old London Fair on April 16th and 17th. The Lakeshore Flyers Football team joined the Quebec Rugby and Football Union (Q.R.F.U.) There team also held its first annual dance at the Edgewater Hotel on Friday, September 17th. Their first game of the season was held at Valois Park on Sunday, September 19th and it was watched by over 3,500 people. The V.C.A.I. held its 2nd annual May 24th fireworks spectacle at Valois Park. Over 1,000 people attended the event. The V.C.A.I. held its annual track & Field day at Valois Park on July 1st. The V.C.A.I. held its first “Citizenship Day” on July 10th at Valois Park. The event was an imaginative way of cleaning up Valois Park. Everyone was asked to bring something that could be shared with others (sandwiches, cookies, cakes, salads, etc). While the people were cleaning up the park all the food was put out on tables. When the people had finished cleaning the park they lined up and had a buffet style meal. The annual horticultural show was held at the Church of the Resurrection on Saturday, August 14th. The 3rd annual Labour Day Track & Field Day meet was held at Valois Park on September 6th. On December 23rd, the Valois Drug Store started a delivery service to the Lakeside and Lakeside Heights area of Pointe Claire. 1949: Pointe Claire Enterprises built more homes, apartments and commercial buildings in the area located to the north of Donegani Ave. and east of King’s Rd. Mr. Huberdeau bought the Lakeshore Tavern in Valois from Rosaire Allaire. Paul Legault sold his remaining ice house at 8 Donegani Ave. Mr. A. Laviolette, a Valois mercantilist, died on June 27th. On January 30th, a memorial stained glass window was dedicated at the Church of the Resurrection’s 22nd anniversary. The stained glass window was dedicated in memory of Robert Francis Beckett of Valois. Robert’s plane was shot down over St. Nazaire, Cannes, France during World War II. (March 28th, 1943) On April 29th and 30th, the Valois United Church held its annual Old London Fair. The annual Valois Park Tombola (fair) was held June 15th – 18th. On April 11th, Mr. Charles E. Hort (77 years old), was killed instantly when hit by the 9:53 A.M. C.P.R. westbound train. The new “Legault Supermarket” opened up for business on Sept 15th. The proprietor was Mr. J.L. Legault and the store was located at 24 Valois Bay. Another new store opened up at 20 “B” Donegani Ave. It was the new “Garrett’s Pastry Shop.” They specialized in French and Danish pastries and homemade jams. The store also catered parties, weddings and birthdays. The proprietors were Miss. M. Garrett and Mrs. M. Kelly. The Lakeshore Flyers Football team continued to play their games at Valois Park every Sunday. Their season started in October. In October, the Bell Telephone Co. implemented its new rates.

Valois Bay Heights (1950 – Present) 1950: 60% of the Valois population were infected with tuberculosis, but no deaths occurred as a result of the disease. The cause of the epidemic was a tainted water supply to the houses in the Valois area. The supply pipes were so old, that ground water was entering the drinking water system and thus, making the residents ill. A traffic light was installed at the Valois crossing and the Metropolitan Blvd. The light was only used during rush hours. 1951:

	A new Valois Park School was built on Belmont Ave. for the cost of $300,000.00.  The new school was officially opened on March 16th and it could accommodate 300 students.

In August the Montreal Anti-Tuberculosis League offered free chest X-rays to the residents of Valois. This was done at the Valois United Church. This was done because of the T.B. epidemic of the 1950’s. The threat of T.B. had been eliminated because the city of Pointe Claire had replaced all of Valois’ old water supply pipes. Pointe Claire donated a fire engine to the Valois Volunteer fire department. Pointe Claire started to fluoridate the water, a practice that still goes on today. The city of Pointe Claire rezoned itself into 7 zones. Valois lost the area south of the train tracks to the water’s edge. This area was rezoned to Lakeside. The rest of the 1951 boundaries are the same as today’s boundaries. The Valois beaches were becoming polluted due to the raw sewage being pumped directly into Lake St. Louis. Swimming was still permitted, but it was discouraged. 1953: In the fall of 1953, many new commercial buildings were built along Donegani Ave. in between Sources Rd. and Valois Bay Ave. The result was the new “Valois Gardens Shopping Centre.” The new shopping centre contained many new stores, some of them were: Hub Hardware Store – McDermott’s Pharmacy & Soda Bar (49 Donegani) – Templeman’s Clothing Store (41 Donegani) – John Mills Hardware Store – Dr. Jacques Bouchard (optometrist) – Valois Gift & Toy Store (45 Donegani) – P.C. Lamarre Plumbing & Heating. These new stores were in the same area as many of Valois’ already established businesses like: J.L. Legault Grocery Store (24 Valois Bay) – Garret’s Pastry Shop (20 “B” Donegani) – Valois Drug Store (corner Valois & Donegani Ave.) – Marguerite’s Beauty Parlour (2 Prince Edward Ave.) – Kenton’s Taxi (Valois) – McGouran’s Taxi (10 Donegani) – Valois Taxi (2 Valois Ave.) – Dr. Gordon Johnston Dentist (23 Valois Ave.) In November, the Valois train crossing was permanently closed to car traffic. The Strathmore crossing (Sources Rd.) was issued with a new set of rail gates that descended and blocked the road, when trains approached the crossing from either direction. This now was the only railroad crossing for vehicles in the area. The only other crossing was situated at St. John’s Rd. but it was an unprotected crossing. The old Valois crossing was still used by pedestrians who desired to cross the tracks. 1954: The Lakeshore Flyers had a great football season. The Provincial Transport Co. started to operate 5 internal bus routes through Valois, Pointe Claire Village, Lakeside Heights and Lakeside. The major Valois route was: Lakeshore Rd. north to Sources Rd. – up Sources Rd. north – west on Donegani Ave. – North on Chester Ave. – west on Belmont Ave. – south on Broadview Ave. – west on Donegani Ave. – north on Coolbreeze Ave. – west on St. Louis Ave. – and east on Dieppe Ave. The cost of this new service was $0.10 for adults and $0.05 for children. The service was stopped in June as no one was using it. On May 12th, free polio vaccine was administered to any children that were born in 1953. This was done at the Valois Park School. The cornerstone of St. John Fisher School was laid on October 9th. The Morin Chapel that was built in 1918 was remodelled and refurbished. 1956: New house construction was started in the north – western corner of the Valois area. On October 1st at 3:00 P.M. the cornerstone for the new Valois United Church was laid by Mr. Dave S. Kirkbride (chairman of the church building committee.) The new church handled 1700 parishoners. In October, Elmer the Safety Elephant visited Valois Park School. The Mayfair Tavern opened their doors for business in November. The tavern took over ½ of the building that housed the Valois I.G.A. Supermarket. Mr. Paul Legault owned the tavern and his brother, Jacques Legault, owned the Valois I.G.A. Supermarket. On December 2nd, all the residents of Pointe Claire, were obliged to add the OXford exchange plus the # (5) or (7) in front of their already existing 4 digit phone number. 1957: St. John Fisher School was completed in the spring of 1957. The Terroux Construction Co. had also built 8 apartment buildings in the area of Coolbreeze Ave. Donegani was finally paved from Sources in the east, to St. John’s Rd. in the west. With this newly paved road, many new commercial interests set up their establishments on this stretch of Donegani. Some of the new commercial interests were: A&P Grocery Store – Bank Dominion Grocery Store – Bedford Home Interiors (57 Donegani) – Bank of Montreal – Lawrence & Les Fina Gas Station (Donegani and King’s Rd.) – Lakeshore Sewing Centre (53 Donegani) – Walter J. Cross Shoe Co. (45 Donegani) – H.R. Snuggs Ltd. (65 Donegani) St. Columba by the Lake Presbyterian Church was opened on November 27th. The first minister of the church was Rev. B. Hostetter. 1958: The town of Pointe Claire was now classified as a city. The outdoor swimming pool at Valois Park was opened in the summer of 1958. There were now 16 stores in the Valois Community Shopping Centre.

On June 17th, at 11:30 P.M; a Grumman Goose aircraft misjudged the Dorval Airport runway due to bad weather and crashed into trees 500 yards north of the end of King’s Rd. No one was hurt in the plane or on the ground.

Date: 17-JUN-1958 Time: Type: Grumman G-21A Goose

Operator: H.J. O'Connell Supplies Registration: CF-EXA C/n / msn: B-50 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 6 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Pointe Claire, Quebec - Canada

Phase: Approach Nature: Executive Departure airport: Chibougamau, Quebec Destination airport: Montreal, YUL Narrative: mgtourer@hotmail.com (Son of passenger with amputation) Picture available Plane crashed on final approach, fuel selector switch in wrong position. Fuel starvation and aircraft brushed a tree with right wing dislodging engine, stopped upright. Strong hull prevented break-up. Propeller intrusion amputated right leg of passenger in co-pilot position. Pilot had broken back. Cabin passenger’s had cracked ribs, bruising.

this was the Grumman Goose, a twin-engine seaplane with a hull-type bottom, with capacity for 8 passengers, although in this case there were just the two pilots in the front (maybe a third, not 100% sure). And yes, the area was fields, edged by trees. The plane hit small trees, which is probably why it wasn't completed smashed. There is no dispute about these details about the crash. One guy lost his leg, and there was blood in the pilot area. (The pilot area was bent, but not crumpled right up, so it is plausible that no one was killed, but they were definitely hurt.) The fact is that there was a plane crash, and people were injured. The ID letters on the tail of the plane were CF-EXA. They have the full description. 6 passengers banged up, and the pilot and co-pilot getting broken back and severed leg. And the date was June 17, 1958 Correction, it looks like 6 was the total number of "occupants", so that would be 4 passengers and 2 crew. I heard stories about one of the crew crawling off to find a house to get help. There was no internet to check that part of it, but that's what people said. 1959:The V.C.A.I. continued to run their regular annual events such as the summer tombola, street dances, Labour day track & field meet, summer & winter sports and carnivals, Coronation Day events, horticultural shows, and July 1st celebrations to just name a few. Belmont Ave. was extended to and joined Sources Rd. On March 1st residents of Valois were no longer charged long distance rates for phone calls made to Montreal.

Valois (1960 – 1969) 1960: The new Church of the Resurrection was completed in the fall. On November 8th, the Pointe Claire Chamber of Commerce was created. Due to the numerous quantities of “chain stores” (Dominion, A&P, Steinberg’s, and I.GA.) in the area, Pointe Claire passed a by-law regulating the store hours. They were set as follows: Mon. – Wed. 7:00 A.M. – 6:00 P.M. Thurs. & Fri. 7:00 A.M. – 9:30 P.M. Sat. 7:00 A.M. – 6:00 P.M. Sun. closed The V.C.A.A. ran 3 football teams during the fall months: the Lakeshore Flyers – The Pointe Claire Avengers (Juvenile) – The VALOIS Colts (Little League.)

1961: The area was hit by the worst ice storm ever. This storm was worse than the 1944 storm. The storm left residents of Valois and all Of Pointe Claire and surrounding cities with no power and phone service for 4 ½ days. The schools were closed as they were used as relief shelters. One Pointe Claire resident died of a heart attack and there were 4 fires. In August, a local bus service throughout Pointe Claire, including Valois, was offered by the Brisebois Bus Company. The company used the local yellow school buses as their mode of transportation. The service lasted until 1980 1962: Pointe Claire celebrated its 50th anniversary as a city. In the spring, a new Valois Library was built at the top of Queen’s Rd. and Summerhill Ave. The Valois United Church installed a new 25 electronic bell-chime system. The system was donated by Reginald G. Newman, in memory of his parents. The Morin Chapel (built in 1918) was moved to a new site on Lakeshore Rd. It is still there today. The V.C.A.I. and V.A.A.A. continued to run their numerous yearly activities. The Protestant School System of Pointe Claire changed its name to the West Island School Commission. Lindsay Place High School was opened in October.

1963: The Bell Telephone Co. installed 16 emergency call boxes throughout Pointe Claire, including Valois. The call boxes were linked directly to the Police / Fire Departments. There were only 2 such systems in Canada. The other system was in Hampstead, Quebec. Valois started 2 younger football teams as well as maintaining the Lakeshore Flyers football team. The 2 other teams were the Pointe Claire Avengers and the VALOS Colts.

1965: The West Island School Commission changed its name once again. It was now known as the Lakeshore Regional School Board.

1966: The land on the corner of Donegani, Chester Ave. and Vincennes Ave. was transferred to the Post Office for the construction of a new Post Office.

1967: The sport of soccer started to replace football as the sport of choice for most Valois youngsters. It was Canada’s 100th birthday and Valois held numerous centennial activities, along with its full slate of regular activities. The new Post Office was completed and the old post office became Civitan (a building for mentally challenged children and adults.)The Lakeshore Flyers football team ceased to exist. The team was replaced by the Pointe Claire Beavers which played in the Quebec Junior Football League (Q.J.F.L.) The team played all its home games on Sunday at Valois Park. The Pointe Claire Avengers and Pointe Claire Bombers ceased to exist.

Valois (1970 – Present) 1971: A record amount of snow fell during the winter of 1971. Soccer replaced the sport of football as the summertime activity. The Pointe Claire Beavers ceased to be a team. The players who desired to continue playing football were obliged to play in the North Shore Football League in Dollard Des Ormeaux and Pierrefonds or play with their respective High School teams (St. Thomas Knights / Lindsay Place Eagles.)

1977: The Parti Quebecois passed Bill 101 and the result was that many Anglophones left the Valois area. Almost an entire generation was lost due to this bill. A good measuring stick, was McDermott’s Drug Store, they lost 40% of their business.

1978: McDermott’s opened the first walk-in medical clinic in the area.

1980: The Montreal Urban Community Transport Corporation (M.U.C.T.C.) organized new local bus routes and the result was the end of the Brisebois Bus Company. The bus system still exists but it’s now under the moniker S.T.M. Due to the declining number of youngsters in the area, the entire city of Pointe Claire was obliged to amalgamate its sports organizations and clubs with those of Dorval. Thus, we started to see the West Island name used when discussing most sports organizations and clubs. For example, West Island Hockey, baseball and soccer replaced the old Valois hockey, baseball and soccer organizations. The organization of most sports and other clubs were more of a global nature now. The parents of many Valois children were still involved in the day to day running of the sports or clubs. They (sports, clubs and organizations) just weren’t labelled by the name Valois. 1981: The C.P.R. (Canadian Pacific Railroad) ended its train service. It was taken over by the M.U.C.T.C. The residents of Valois saw their train service go from 22 trains a day, down to 8 trains a day. The system still exists today but its run by the S.T.M.

1986: The water in Lake St. Louis was declared as unsafe for swimmers . 1993: A 3.5 – 4.0 (Richter scale) earthquake was felt in Valois and surrounding areas. The epicentre was in Coteau du Lac.

1994: Tara Manning, a Lindsay Place High School student was strangled and stabbed to death as she slept. She was a Dorval North resident.

1998: The worst ice storm in Quebec’s history occurred in 1998. The schools were shut down for a week and the power was out in many parts of Valois for 7 days. The Lakeshore School Board (Protestant) and the Baldwin Cartier School Boards (English Catholic) were merged into one school board. The newly created school board was called the Lester B. Pearson School Board.

2006: Valois Park School was merged with Northview School and renamed Jubilee School. The old Valois Park School was annexed to St. John Fisher School.

2010: Jubilee School was closed and the remaining students were moved back to the old Valois Park School, now known as St. John Fisher (Senior Campus.)

2012 Sept 7th “EARTH TO PLANET VALOIS” was created LONG LIVE VALOIS JGPM Philharmonic (talk) 16:41, 1 November 2012 (UTC)

I am Philharmonic- Phi Miller - and I posted all this information on Valois onto this Wikipedia page. Hope this is helpfull 173.179.212.111 (talk) 21:49, 21 April 2024 (UTC)

You may visit the Facebook page EARTH TO PLANET VALOIS for the full experience 173.179.212.111 (talk) 21:51, 21 April 2024 (UTC)