- Ottawa Jewish Archives
- Ottawa Jewish Historical Society fonds
- Interview with Anita Roodman
Interview with Anita Roodman
Description only — contact the archiveO0045
- Held by
- Ottawa Jewish Archives via Canadian Jewish Heritage Network (incl. Alex Dworkin Canadian Jewish Archives)
- Dates
- November 7, 2000 (indexed as 2000)
- Level
- item
- Scope & content
- Subject: Anita Roodman Interviewer: Joe Murray Date: November 7, 2000 Length of Time: 47:02 - Her mother Lillian Nadler was born in Montreal. Her parents came from Romania, and arrived in Canada in 1912. Her mother was born in 1913, and had 2 sisters and a brother; Sarah Snider, Frances Dryan, Sam Nadler - Her father came from Russia, his parents came to Canada in 1905. He was born in Russia and was just under a year old when they came here - Her maternal parents came from Bucharest, Romania. Her maternal grandfather was a tailor. - Her paternal grandfather was a farmer in Russia, when he came here they lived on a farm in Buckingham, Quebec, and then started Buckingham Dairy on McGee and St. Patrick - She remembers going to the dairy and visiting her grandparents. - Her parents Lilian and Hyram Kathnelson were married in 1935. - Anita was born in 1936, in Sandy Hill - Anita is the oldest of 8 children- 5 brothers and 2 sisters: Jerry, Morris, Alan, Richard, Marsha, Andrea, Steven - Went to Osgoode St School and then York St. School and then Lisgar Collegiate - A lot of Jewish families in Sandy Hill - Jewish Community Centre was on King Edward Ave. in the old King Edward St. Shul - Belonged to the first Jewish Girl Guides troop with about 15-20 other girls. Used to meet in York st. school once a week. - Used to work at Kiddy Town run by Hy Heins when she went to Lisgar. - Anita has 2 kids; Joel, born in 1959 and Gail born in 1962. Her siblings all have kids. - Recalls growing up and going to the movies, and events held by the JCC. The regent and capital theater and rideau theater. - Her father-in-law had his dental office on Rideau St. - Recalls different restaurants Anita and her friends used to visit - Recalls her father used to take her to Rideau Bakery every sunday morning to get bread. - Anita used to skate, ski and sled with her family. She spent most of her time outdoors - Shopping included Friemans, Birks and Caplans and a few other stores, mostly on Sparks St. now known as the Sparks St Mall - Eaton’s was on the Bank St. corner of Lauier, which was across the street from Cohen furniture, and national bakery. The Odian theater was also on that block, sometime in the 50s. The theater was later destroyed because of a gas leak and subsequent explosion. - When the second world war ended, Anita was 9 years old. Her father took them down to Rideau St. and there were thousands of people dancing in the streets and celebrating - “Football fridays” were high school football games - Recalls when the Ottawa baseball team started, Anita and her friends skipped school to go see them - She went to Hader after school on George St. Mr. Lipshitz was a teacher there. - Jewish Stores; Danes on Rideau St. - Anita took a business course at a college on Spark St. and she got a job in the Public Service commission, then called the Civil Service commission in the government. Worked in the Jackson Building - Anita got married in December 1956 to Mike Roodman - Left the government shortly after, had her kids, and returned to work 10 years later - Left briefly to work with a non-profit. Returned to the government in 1973 and worked in Supply services and public works for 19 years and retired in December 1991 - In 1976 Anita went to Israel. - Recalls when she went to visit Mike who was working in Hong Kong. Mike and Anita enjoy travel. She recalls the time her and Mike spend in warm places during the winter - Anita recalls when her and Mike visited Whitehorse and Alaska Audio Cuts - Anita recalls going to dances every Sunday night at the JCC. It was here that Mike and Anita met and started dating at age 17 and 22 - 9 months later, Mike was in the army, and the Korean war had just ended, but Mike was sent to Korea in November, and he was there for 10 months - They got engaged when she was 18, and married when she was 20 and Mike was 25. Married at Maziki Hadas. Rabbi Epstien officiated. - Recalls going to Florida for their honeymoon - First apartment was on Carmen Ave. in Vanier. There were several other newly married Jewish couples living there - From there they moved to a house in the west end, where they had their son Joel. Moved to Ryan Dr. in the west end. Then moved to Lawrence St. and the kids went to school at Queen Elizabeth School and Rideau High school. Then they moved to Glade Cres Court? Off of baseline rd. near the Carleton Hospital - Mike is in sales in the insurance business. - They are members of Maziki Hadas with Rabbi Bulka - Recalls the wedding of a fellow congregation member. - Mike and Anita took up golfing, and golf with friends at different clubs around the city. - Anita describes how she spends her free time, now that she is retired. - Anita describes how her and her sisters divide their time with their mother, and how their family splits up holidays - Celebrates Hillary Clinton winning a seat in the senate. Audio ends
- Location
- rue York · street · confidence 50% · street · found as “York St.”
- avenue King-Edward · street · confidence 50% · street · found as “King Edward Ave.”
- rue Rideau · street · confidence 50% · street · found as “Rideau St.”
- rue George · street · confidence 50% · street · found as “George St.”
Where
More details
- Genre / form
- sound recording
- Format
- Audio
- Harvested
- 2026-10-17T20:12:50Z · source datestamp n/a · cjhn