name:"Interviewed by Mac Lipson" found 4 records - The Canadian Jewish Heritage Network

Notes: Subject: Abe Hanser Interviewer: Mac Lipson Date: March 11, 1987 Interview Location: Ottawa, ON Length of Time: 1:18:41 -Abe discusses music he recalls growing up; his parents mostly kept records of famous Cantor’s and yiddish songs. -He talks about the smells he remembers from the back of his parents' shop. He remembers having geese that they cooked for special occasions. His mother also made a lot of jams, preserves, and gefilte fish. -Abe’s father had a store on Clarence street; he sold clothing and shoes there. His father was a shoe repairer by trade. -Unfortunately, in 1926 his father passed away suddenly. Abe’s mom then carried on the store and raised all 8 of their children. When she took over she started to bring in glassware and dishes. Eventually this also included furniture and antiques. -In 1951 Abe’s mother had a heart attack and Abe decided to take over the store. -Along with the antiques and furniture Abe added TV’s, radio’s, and stereos to the store. -Abe’s mother was from Riga, Latvia and his father is from a small town near Riga. Both of Abe’s grandparents came from russia. Abe talks about the small things he recalls them talking about from life in Europe and discusses his parents decision to come to Canada. -Abe attended York Street school and then the school of higher english. -Abe talk about his memories of happy times in the byward market growing up; one of his best memories was his sister's wedding at the old Talmud Torah. -When Abe talks about Ottawa in the 50’s he talks about the drunks in the taverns and how the market had become a slum. -Abe talk about his memories of Reverend Jacob Mirsky, the King Edward Shul, and the Jewish Institute. When Abe was young he was a member of young judaea and the Ottawa Hebrew Boys Association. -Abe talk about some of the challenges of owning a store and the anti-semitism he saw. He discusses Jean Tissot and the Tissot affair. Abe also discusses his memories of A.J. Freiman and his store. -Abe touches on the scandal of inter marriage and divorce while he was growing up; not something he saw very often in Ottawa. -Abe recalls the first moments he learnt about the holocaust. He read about it in a New York Jewish paper and then heard about it from the Rabbi’s. Abe talks about the feelings he had when learning about the horrors and the genocide. -Abe was a member of the Chevra Kadisha and helped with the cleaning and shrouding of a body prior to a funeral. He talks about this experience and his role in the funeral proceedings. -Abe discusses the market when he was operating his store. He discusses all of the other second hand stores, the fruit stands, the butchers, and what jewish owned stores are left in the market. He discusses the landlords in the area, the buildings that have changed, and the various hotels in the market. --Abe started driving a car in the market in 1928; he was one of the few as there were still a lot of horses and wagons in the market then. -Abe recalls weekend parades in the market; the Knights of Columbus would practice their drills in a parade on Sundays. He also remembers being too young to know what was happening but seeing all of the parties and celebrations when WWI ended. -Abe concludes by discussing romances that began in the market and ended in happy marriages an families. END OF TAPE AT 1:13:00

Name Access: Mac Lipson

Archival / Genealogical: Archival Descriptions

Repository: Ottawa Jewish Archives

Interview with Freda Lipson

https://www.cjhn.ca/link/cjhn106400

Collection: Ottawa Jewish Historical Society fonds

Description Level: Item

Material Type: sound recording

Physical Description: on the second side of the tape

Fonds No.: O0045

Date: February 12, 1987

Collection: Ottawa Jewish Historical Society fonds

Description Level: Item

Material Type: sound recording

Physical Description: on the second side of the tape

Responsibility: Interviewed by Mac Lipson

Date: February 12, 1987

Fonds No.: O0045

Storage Location: vault

Notes: Subject: Freda Lipson Interviewer: Max Lipson Date: February 12 Interview Location: Ottawa, ON Length of Time: 57:06 -Freda was born in a village of 4,000 people in Russia. The village was made up mostly of peasants, farmers, tailors, and shoemakers. She recalls there only being 10 jewish families. Her mother and father were born in Narovia. -Freda came to Canada when she was 25 years old in 1927. -She talks of her first impression of Canada. She arrived at the old Ottawa Train Station and says she was immediately disappointed, the city looked “shabby” and wasn’t as beautiful as Kiev. -She was met at the train station by her sisters and Mr. and Mrs. Bookman (?). She recalls them showing her around and her remaining unimpressed with the downtown and their family home. She talks of Kiev and how beautiful that city was. -Freda then talks about her name and where it came from, she was named after her mother’s sister. -She discusses her journey from Kiev to Canada. She took a boat from the port of Riga to England. In England she discusses going through her medical examination and being told they failed. Her husband had shrapnel in his leg from World War I, her son had issues with his eyes, and she had caught Scarlet Fever. This meant they were stuck in England for 2 years. They finally left England on the The Ship of Montreal and arrived in Montreal before heading to Ottawa. -She says she came to Ottawa because her entire family was in Canada. SHe also speaks of the anti-semitism in Russia during the revolution. -They first moved into an apartment on Bank and Gloucester. They lived there for a short while before moving to a 2 bedroom apartment on Bank and Gladstone. -Her husband was a tailor and she discusses the many places he worked prior to opening up his own shop. When they opened their own tailoring shop at 123 Bank Street, Freda and the children lived in the back of the shop. -Freda discusses how hard life was in 1929 for them. Freda and the children lived in the back of that shop for 13 years because they couldn't afford to pay two rents. She recalls her husband making toys in the shop to give to the children since they could not afford to buy toys. -Freda recalls Stories of Max causing mischief in their home when he was young. -When asked about neighbours Freda had and she lists off a few; The York’s, the Askin’s (?), the Fogle’s, H. Fine, S. Miller, Max Dorkin (?), and the Shreider’s. -Freda then talks about the James Street Synagogue and the clubs and societies she was a part of. She belonged to the Women’s Auxiliary as cultural chairman and treasurer, and the Pioneer Women as a founding member. She discusses her work for the betterment of the shul with the women’s auxiliary. She also discusses her work raising funds for Israel with the Pioneer Women. -At the time she was in the Pioneer Women she recalls there being three groups and approximately 100 members. -Max then asks his mother about her reputation as an entertainer. She talks about having what she calls a “kitchen voice” but that she loved to sing and would sing at most functions. She then sings a part of a song and also translates it to english. -Freda then discusses her philosophy on life; she is not a complainer and was always happy with what she had. She always took pride in her family and her home irregardless of what she had. -She discusses James Street Shul and how they shared a Rabbi with Beth Shalom. Her husband worked as a caretaker for the shul and she also talks about the Synagogue having a loan system which she was very thankful for as it allowed her to save and buy a house on Arlington Avenue. -She also discusses the weddings and Bar Mitzvahs that happened at James Street Synagogue. She recalls them all being beautiful and fun. -Freda then discusses the decline of the James Street Shul, she says as older members passed away and no new young members were joining. As membership declined the building was eventually sold and then burned down in a fire. -Freda discusses her trip to Israel 18 years ago, she talks of her feelings in Israel. She watched her first sunset there and talked of being brought to tears. She says that during her trip she felt as if she was home. -Freda then talks about her first trip back to Russia after WWII and she says she was very thankful to be a Canadian then as her old home was destroyed. -To conclude, Freda talks about her love and appreciation for Canada and all that it did to create a wonderful life for her family. END OF TAPE

Name Access: Mac Lipson

Archival / Genealogical: Archival Descriptions

Repository: Ottawa Jewish Archives

Interview with Jack Snow.

https://www.cjhn.ca/link/cjhn106441

Collection: Ottawa Jewish Historical Society fonds

Description Level: Item

Material Type: sound recording

Physical Description: 2 tapes

Fonds No.: O0045

Date: June 1987

Collection: Ottawa Jewish Historical Society fonds

Description Level: Item

Material Type: sound recording

Physical Description: 2 tapes

Responsibility: Interviewed by Mac Lipson

Date: June 1987

Fonds No.: O0045

Storage Location: vault

History / Biographical: Subject: Jack Snow Interviewer: Mac Lispon Date: June 1. 1987 Interview Location: Ottawa Length of Time: 46:00 For the ottawa Jewish Historical Society- Jack gives permission for the recording to become property of the JHS and ultimately the LAC Jack Snow was born in Montreal, and lived somewhere along the Gauchetiere, but does not remember the exact address He was born in 1905 and left Montreal in 1908 to go to Gault, which is now Cambridge Ontario. His father was working in Gault, for Turnbulls knitting Mill along the grand river. In the old country, his father was in the moving picture business. They had theaters put up in tents and they went from town to town showing the first movies. That was in the early 1900’s. They showed movies to different settlements from town to town. His father originally came from Budapest, Hungary. Max says he had never heard of such a profession. He had heard of traveling musicians but never a person who traveled from place to place showing movies. Jack’s father was about 45/46 when he came to Canada. He had married in Lemberg, Austria. Jack’s mother was from Austria. He does not know how they met, nor the name of the boat they came across on. His father died when was 52, and his mother died at 86. Jack does not remember her talking about her hometown. Jack does not know anything about his grandparents, nor does he have any old photographs. Jack went to school in Gault, and from there he went to Toronto. From Toronto he went to Detroit, and worked as manager of a men’s shirt shop. He lost his job in the stock market crash in 1929, and the man he worked for lost 3 stores. In Detroit he started looking around for something to do, and the only thing he could think of was going into the jewelry business because there was a customer at the store who used to come in and buy some of the finest rings that they had to sell, and he looked like a prosperous individual so Jack assumed he had a good job. The fellow worked for a certain jewelry store and sold watches, so Jack applied there. It turns out that fellow only had that job as a cover, because he was playing the stock market. That is how Jack got into the Jewelry business. He met his wife in Detroit. Jack was interested in jewelry because it was an easy job. At that time you could buy a watch for a dollar down and then a dollar a week, and Jack used to get commission on that. He was interested because he needed a job and this was a commission deal and how much money you made depended on how hard you worked. He was discovered by the President of People’s Credit Jewellers (PCJ) and he was brought to Ottawa. In 1931 in Ottawa, very few people were making $100-$150 a week, and that was what he was making in 1931 so he never suffered from the Great Depression He was located on Spark Street with PCJ above Ottawa Leather Goods, which was a luggage shop operated by George Wolf. Jack met his wife in Detroit on a blind double date. She was with another fellow and he was with another girl and they switched over. He thought she was a very good dancer, and he fell in love with her. Jack’s original family name was Schnee, which is Germanic, and it was changed during the First World War when, what is now Kitchener, used to be Berlin. Everyone anglicized their names during WII. Therefore, his name changed from Schnee to Snow. Jack’s parents were not active in the Jewish community because of the small population in Gault, but they did speak both Yiddish and German at home Jack can still speak Yiddish but it is limited. In Ottawa, Jack went to the Good of Israel Shul, which was over a mattress factory on Somerset street. He had a sister who was 6 years his senior who has since passed away. His children are: Donald and Arlene. Donald is 48 and Arlene is 54. Donald is in California, and Arlene is in Toronto. Donald is a clinical psychologist and Arlene is in the jewelry business or the wholesale business, as she calls on stores In connection with his name Schnee, Jack was on a business call in Toronto and a receptionist said there another Mr. Snow in a meeting and wondered if they were related. He was very quick to say that no he did not have any relatives and his name had changed because of WWI. However a germanic looking individual comes out and Jack tells him about the name change and being raised in Gault, and this man was raise in Hamburg which was the other side of Gault. He said his name used to Schneelaugh? And he was not going to to through life being called “Snowhole” Jack and his wife’s first apartment was 60 Fairmont Ave which was considered way out of town. They used to go for a ride to Brit For an ice cream cone but that was an outing. The first apartment they had was very hot. It was a one room apartment with some people in Woodroffe, which at the time was very far. Ottawa was a very small town. Everyone knew one another. A lot of Jews went to Britannia Bay, as a summer outing and many had cottages there Palm beach was a privately owned beach that apparently had a sign that said “No Dogs or Jews allowed” but Jack does not remember hearing about this. Waltz inn was the place to go in Britannia to get an ice cream cone, but there was not much else to do. Snow also lived in Rockcliffe park, on Puttman. Their place was above the car garage. Jack still passes by both places, and they’re still both there. They lived on Island Park drive, and the West End of Ottawa suddenly became very Jewish. Also in Island Park drive was Joel Filler, Gordan Kaplan, Joe Sacs Shoe Store, Harry Cofeman, Julie Laikon, (?) Along Spark st there was Kaplan Furs, Guay’s Workshop operated by Bill Holtsman, Archie’s Shoes, Dover Hardware, George Wolfe Ottawa Leather Goods. Along Rideau there was Kaplans, AJ Freemans, Lox? Operated by Veinberg, Fellar, Sacks. They were all nice guys. They had a hard time meeting their expenses. They all had difficulties because it was during the depression. At this time they were getting less than a dollar an hour. Change of times and conditions is what drove them all out of business. Father time that is. Franchises and chain operations. Jack thinks the idea of a family owned shop will never come back because it’s price that really counts Good business principles were important; treating the customer right, creating good relationships. Jack believes he was the first store in Canada to pay rent on a percentage basis, because the landlord was in the theater business, Don Stapleton, and he applied the same principles as was applied against him. Movies were bought on a percentage basis so at that time, Jack was one of the highest rent stores in Canada. In 1944-1948 was $2500 which was $30,000 a year. His rent was based on his income, and his landlord had access to their books Jack went into this agreement because that place was the only one available to him in that location Jack found the hours of selling jewelry were quite easy, they had good staff, they had to promote a lot to get the business, and be outstanding. The Dog Derby had 20,000 people lined up along the Rideau Canal to watch the derby. Drivers from all over the World would come in for the dog derby. Jack paid for the whole Dog Derby. That Dog Derby the last figure was about $18,000. Jack covered the accommodation, their food, and the promotion. The year was 1958. Others in Ottawa also benefited from this Jack hosted 3 dog derby’s, but had to stop because the weather was too uncertain. These events paid off in business. They attracted a lot of business Jack was called one of the greatest promoters in town. They had 100 soft ball teams, and kids used to come in the store and ask for a sponsor. So they decided to sponsor 100 teams. They would have Jack Snow Jewelers on one side of their sweaters and their team's name on the other. Jack also had a balloon derby. They filled 10,000 balloons with helium and inserted application forms- when the balloon was found if they mailed the form inside back they would get a prize which would depend on the distance. The form was just their newsprint, and they drifted as far East as Corner Brook, Newfoundland. Jack had an advertising department. He used to bounce ideas off them, but most were his ideas. They also put a diamond in the sidewalk in front of the store. They had a sign that was embedded in the sidewalk which said “you’re now walking on the most expensive sidewalk in the world”. But the city dug the plaque up and threw it away. He also had a television commercial….Audio skips forward as if the tape was stopped and restarted. The Central Canada Exhibition had a parade prior to opening, usually Saturday morning. Jack had a convertible that was decorated with 7000 silk bows, glued on to the car. It was like the Rosebowl parade- they used flowers Jack used decorative ribbons, and they paraded with that. They had the car on Spark street, and people would come and take pictures with it or in it. Jack’s friends include Bernie Sanders of Cinderella shoes, Archie Sybley, Gordon Kaplan. Jack had a Rabbi in Gault, and they rented a room as a cheder and all the kids were in the same room. The kids used to drive the Rabbi nuts. Jack has been to Israel. It was thrilling to see the people, and how proud they were acting. Jack and his wife went for their 50th wedding anniversary. They were married in 1929, so 1979. Jack and his wife have been married for 58 years at the time of the interview. Jack and his wife took his daughter and granddaughter, and their son and his wife to Israel in 1979. They had a great time. It was inspiring to see ‘the homeland’. They didn’t feel out of place. Jack says that Israel makes Jewish people all around the world very proud. Jack remembers when he was a kid, he used to have to fight when they were called “Damn Jews”. Those were fighting words. Jack was the only Jew when he was living in Gault, so he had to deal with a lot of antisemitism Jack thinks that Jews have a good image. Using the Jewish Golf Club in Ottawa as an example, Jacks talks about the acceptance of Jewish people. Rideau view golf club is a very desirable and well thought of golf club compared to other clubs. About 80% non-Jews belong to the Jewish golf club because there are far less Jews that play golf in the city It started with 100 members. Jack used to have stores in places like Arnprior, Renfrew, Smith Falls, and all these places had 9 hole golf courses. These small places had the population to support their golf clubs. The only place Jews could play was in Gatineau, at Joe Saxes place, who would say “if you don’t like it, join the other club” Jack figured if a small place like Arnprior with a population of 4500 people could support a 9 hole golf course than so could the Jewish community, so Jack told his wife they’re going to have a Jewish Golf Club To start they would need 100 people with $1000 each. It needed the support of the city fathers, so Jack had a meeting at the Chateau Laurier, and invited guys like Alec Bechelman, Sam Burger, Mor Zagerman, who all did not golf. Alec offered to sell his land to Jack; 235 acres $23,500. That’s how the golf club got started That’s why they have the acceptance now that the Hunt club has more Jews, the Royal Ottawa has more Jews, the Rivermede has more Jews. The Jewish golf players have dispersed to other clubs which explains why 80% of the Jewish golf club is non-Jewish. Jack does not feel he has encountered any antisemitism of consequence in his life. His wife was born in Cleveland and worked for GM advertising in Detroit. Her maiden name was Leberman. Jack was 82 at the time of the interview. He belongs to some Jewish clubs, a jewelers 24K club. Jack is an avid golfer, and he plays the organ. He thinks it’s a bit strange how no one recognizes his name anymore. At one time if he were to say his name, people would recognize him for television but now they don’t. Recording ends- 46:00