New Brighton Borough Proclamation Presented to Odette Lambert

Odette Lambert was touched and humbled to be honored by the New Brighton Town Council at the New Brighton Historical Society meeting on May 28, 2024. She was surprised when she was presented a proclamation by Mayor Valerie McElvy and the council members for her dedication and volunteer work in helping to preserve the history of our community.

Odette has been a resident of New Brighton for nearly 75 years, and at the age of 96, she still remains involved in the New Brighton Historical Society. She has been an active member since it was founded in 1967, serving on various committees, including President. In the early 1990’s, she created a video, The Underground Railroad, and gave presentations about the town’s involvement in the Underground Railroad Movement.

She came up with the idea and organized the first New Brighton Underground Railroad Walking Tour in 2019. Odette also was responsible for the conception of the yellow Historical Markers for the “Safe Houses” around the town by researching, writing the history, designing the logo and chairing the fundraiser for these markers to identify the sites.

In addition, she was the creator and editor of the published book called New Brighton’s Stately Homes, and wrote most of the monthly Did You Know? articles for the Facebook page and had them compiled into a book.

Odette just completed authoring the book The Beaver River. She asked that all of the proceeds from her books go to the New Brighton Historical Society to help continue their work in preserving the history of New Brighton.

The members are proud of Odette’s many contributions to our organization and happy for her being recognized by the town for her devotion to its history.

Congratulations, Odette, and thank you for your many years of service to our community!