- Ottawa Jewish Archives
- Ottawa Jewish Historical Society fonds
- Interview with Max Smolkin
Interview with Max Smolkin
Description only — contact the archive8
- Held by
- Ottawa Jewish Archives via Canadian Jewish Heritage Network (incl. Alex Dworkin Canadian Jewish Archives)
- Dates
- May 24, 2005 (indexed as 2005)
- Level
- item
- Scope & content
- Max Smolkin was born in Ottawa in 1908 to Russian parents, Jacob (John) Smolkin and Henya Ginsburg, and his family consisted of eight children, including five boys and two girls. They lived in Lowerton on Murray Street, where Max attended Rideau Street School, George Street School, and did three years of high school before moving to Almonte. There, his family took over a business from a Jewish man who was giving it up, and Max and his mother looked after it. Max’s father, John, also had a cattle business; he was a drover who bought cattle from farmers and shipped them to markets in Montreal and Toronto. After hearing of the death of a Jewish store owner in Arnprior, John went to investigate. He got in touch with the man’s family in Montreal, and helped arrange his burial and funeral. In return, the family left him the business in Arnprior, which already was fully stocked with menswear, and he renamed it John Smolkin and Son. Thus, they moved to Arnprior to run the business, and made many friends there. Max recalls that there was usually at least one other Jewish family in town, sometimes two, and they knew of many other Jewish families in surrounding small towns that they would regularly visit. Max helped run the store, eventually taking over, and though business was tough, he kept at it and was well respected in the town. He got married in 1936 to a Jewish girl from Smiths Falls, and describes how while most Jewish people in small towns wanted to leave, he and his wife wanted to put down roots there instead. They were both very involved within the community: Max was on the town council, became chairman of the school board, and was president of the curling club and the golf club, and his wife was on the library board and an officer of the University Women’s Club. Max describes having parties for his staff, neighbours, and friends, and mentions how he did not experience any outward anti-semitism in the town. He attributes this to him knowing everyone, as he believes anti-semitism comes from people not knowing or understanding what a Jewish person is. Max and his wife had a daughter and two sons, and he would bring them into Ottawa regularly for activities and events, Hebrew school on Sundays, and to shul for high holidays. Max also discusses his experiences running the business, including how he obtained furs from trappers, the suppliers he bought from in Winnipeg, and his business practices. He also mentions how his nephew runs a Smolkin and Sons store in Kemptville to this day, and briefly details his grandparents’ business in the ByWard market.
- Location
- rue Murray · street · confidence 50% · street · found as “Murray Street”
- rue Rideau · street · confidence 50% · street · found as “Rideau Street”
- rue George · street · confidence 50% · street · found as “George Street”
Where
More details
- Genre / form
- sound recording
- Format
- Audio
- Language
- English
- Harvested
- 2026-10-17T20:12:50Z · source datestamp n/a · cjhn