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Nathan Rivelis - 3 Aug. 2010
- Name
- Nathan Rivelis
- Material Format
- sound recording
- Interview Date
- 3 Aug. 2010
- Source
- Oral Histories
- Name
- Nathan Rivelis
- Number
- OH 405
- Subject
- Immigrants--Canada
- Small business
- Communities
- Interview Date
- 3 Aug. 2010
- Quantity
- 1 reference CD
- 1 archival DVD
- Interviewer
- Rheta (nee Rivelis) Rosen
- AccessionNumber
- OH 405
- Total Running Time
- 1:11 minutes
- Biography
- Nathan Rivelis, father of Rheta Rosen (née Rivelis), was born in the early 1900s in the Ukraine. Nathan immigrated to Canada in 1919, making his home in Lachine and Saint-Jérôme, Quebec. In 1926, Nathan moved to North Bay, Ontario. There, he opened a small, family-run clothing store and grew it into Rivelis' Department Store, remaining in business until 1983.
- Material Format
- sound recording
- Name Access
- Rivelis' Department Store (North Bay, Ont.)
- Geographic Access
- North Bay (Ont.)
- Québec (Province)
- Ukraine
- Original Format
- DVD
- Transcript
- 0.0-.39: Interviewer checking the tape recorder Family History .40-35.54: Nathan Rivelis was born in the early 1900s in Miskiva, (spelling) a town located between Odessa and Kiev in the Ukraine. Approximately 2,000 Jews lived in Miskiva alongside a small non-Jewish population. The market place was the primary source of income for the Jewish population. Nathan had five siblings: Tzipa, Moshe, Hannah, Eva, and Esther. When Nathan was ten years old, his father passed away, leaving his mother, Bluma Rivelis (née Dubin) to provide for the family on her own. With Nathan’s help, Bluma supported the family by running a grocery store and selling liquor. Nathan describes the difficult life and persecution of Miskiva’s Jewish peasantry from the early 1900s through the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Many Russian Jews fled Russia for America, and it was Abram, Nathan’s brother-in-law, who was the first family member to immigrate to Canada. With money received from Abram, Nathan secured passage to Canada for the rest of the family. Immigration to Canada 35.55-42.47: Nathan arrived in Canada in 1919, making his home in Lachine, Quebec. After six years working as a presser and in dry goods, Nathan opened a business in St. Jerome, Quebec. North Bay 42.48-48.50: In 1926, after vacationing with the Herman family and encouraged by a positive impression of North Bay, Nathan closed his dry goods business in St. Jerome and moved to North Bay. After a brief stint as a peddler, Rivelis purchased the dry goods business of E. I. Green. To help with the business, Rivelis moved his mother and sister Esther to North Bay. After his marriage in 1929, they returned to Montreal. Rivelis grew his small, family-run clothing store to a large department store and remained in business until 1983. Family history continued 48.51-57.21: In this portion of the interview, Nathan discusses his feelings of fear while living in Russia, always worrying what the next day would bring. When Nathan arrived in Canada, he felt free and happy. Nathan discusses his father’s family. Some family members immigrated to Milwaukee while some remained in Russia. 57.28-1.02.29: This is a personal conversation between Nathan and his daughter. They discuss Nathan’s mother, her difficult life in Russia, her life in Canada, and her death at the age of ninety-four.
- Source
- Oral Histories
