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Dec. 8, 2006
A street by any other name
Peddler gets a "rue" named after him in Sherbrooke,
Que.
BAILA LAZARUS
It is perhaps a bit of an oddity that a Jewish peddler-turned-clothing-salesman
would merit having a street named after him. Particularly odd in
a place like Sherbrooke, Que., a primarily Francophone, Catholic
city in a primarily Francophone, Catholic province, where streets
are named after mayors and judges, famous singers or soldiers.
And yet now, on a list of new city street names from the City of
Sherbrooke, where the justifications for adopting street names include
"lieutenant-governor of Quebec" (rue Évariste-Leblanc),
"Queen of England" (boulevard Queen Victoria) or "defender
of Quebec" (rue du Général de Montcalm) is the
entry "rue Joseph-Rosenbloom." And the justification for
his entry? "Haberdasher."
"The family is struck by the fact that this city, with its
strong traditions of Catholicism and Francophone nationalism, would
now choose to name a street after a Jewish citizen - something that
would have been unimaginable 20 or 30 years ago," said Jonathan
Wisenthal, one of three of Rosenbloom's grandchildren currently
living in Vancouver.
But that Jewish citizen played a large role in the mercantile sector
of the city, opening and running a clothing store for more than
half a century.
Rosenbloom was born in 1868 in Lithuania and immigrated with his
family to Ontario, to the Cornwall area, in 1870. His father died
when he was only five years old, so he took on the responsibility
of looking after his two sisters, one of whom would become the mother
of Nathan Phillips, who was mayor of Toronto from 1955 to 1962.
In 1885, Rosenbloom left to live in Sherbrooke, where some wealthy
relatives were located, and peddled watches and other merchandise
in the area. After saving enough money, he opened the Star Clothing
Hall in 1898 and then subsequently changed the name to J.R. Rosenbloom
Ltd., "because everyone called the store 'Rosenbloom's' anyway,"
said daughter Dorothy Wisenthal, 94, who lives in Montreal.
Wisenthal recalled the strong bond between her father and his patrons,
as well as the high quality of the merchandise that kept clients
coming back.
"He loved his customers," she said. "He had a lot
of American tourists, a lot of New Yorkers would come up in the
summer and would shop in the store. He wouldn't buy anything that
was cheaply made. Wouldn't even buy from relatives if the material
wasn't good quality, so it caused some bad feelings."
Wisenthal estimated that there would have been about 25,000 people
living in Sherbrooke toward the middle of the 1900s.
Rosenbloom was an active participant in the Jewish community in
Sherbrooke and was president of the Agudath Achim Synagogue from
1920-1925. The synagogue was located on rue de Montréal,
which happens to intersect with the new rue Joseph-Rosenbloom.
But, Wisenthal said, her father was not a Zionist.
"In 1934, he got a cheap trip on a Mediterranean cruise and
went to stop in Palestine," she said. "He was a Zionist
when he left but when he came back, he wasn't a Zionist anymore.
He said it was all rocks and you couldn't grow anything."
Rosenbloom was also a member of the Board of Trade, Rotary Club
and St. George's Club and a director of Sherbrooke Hospital. He
died in 1952 after being accidentally struck by a car as he was
crossing the street in front of his store, according to Wisenthal.
Commenting on the naming of a street after his grandfather, David
Wisenthal, who lives in Montreal, said he thought it was very ironic
because one of Rosenbloom's sons, Lewis, had tried to get a street
named after a Jewish mayor of the city, but was told the city would
never name a street after an Anglophone individual. Lewis stayed
in Sherbrooke and looked after the store for a short while after
Rosenbloom died, but left for Vancouver in the mid-1950s. David
Wisenthal thinks he left because he was upset about the city's decision.
The naming of a street after Joseph Rosenbloom is thanks to the
merger of several municipalities into the City of Sherbrooke (about
130 kilometres east of Montreal). Numerous new street names were
sought in order to eliminate duplication from the other towns.
Members of the public were asked to suggest names, which went to
city council for approval. The idea for the rue Joseph-Rosenbloom
was one of a few suggestions that came from the Sherbrooke Historical
Society.
"We wanted to have some names of people who were from a different
origin," said Gérard Côté, a member of
the society and also of the city's toponymy committee, which studies
the origins and use of place names. Côté himself recalls
being taken to Rosenbloom's store several times as a youngster to
get suits made.
Ironically, several years ago, the society tried, unsuccessfully,
to have a different street named after Rosenbloom, a street that
held a retail centre that includes a Wal-Mart. Somehow, the address
was "finalized" before the name was actually accepted
by the city. Now, if you search "Wal-Mart" and "Sherbrooke"
on the web, you'll come up with addresses at 4050 Josaphat Rancourt,
as well as 4050 Joseph-Rosenbloom.
In addition to the unveiling of the street sign, Rosenbloom's family
also unveiled a granite bench in memory of Rosenbloom and his wife,
Leah, in a park right next to his very own street.
Baila Lazarus is a freelance writer, photographer and
illustrator living in Vancouver. Her work can be seen at www.orchiddesigns.net.
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