The cells over at the city hall are in no condition for anybody. It is not right to ask our Police Department to remain in that place. The Chief and his men should have decent accommodation. As things are now, they are cramped for room and vermin play tag with them.
Then, the magistrate is not satisfied with conditions in the police courtroom, also in the basement. The air is damp and the ventilation is not as good as it might be. We ought to provide the right kind of accommodation for our officials.43
Although Meretsky’s market concept was rejected, his civic pride emerged in a number of other ways. He requested that repairs be made to the City Hall, that more money be spent on paving and curbing streets, that the water main be extended, and that the city help finance projects such as Emancipation Day celebrations. On the other hand, he showed displeasure with aldermen who used municipal funds to finance out-of-town excursions that were not entirely in the public interest. He himself felt uncomfortable about charging his own trips to the public purse unless they led to the growth and development of his city.44 At one point in his colourful career, he even introduced a motion for a by-law whereby a $100 license fee would be imposed on any theatre proprietor who refused admission to children under 15 years of age — an unusual proposal believed to have been the result of an argument Aaron had had with his son Simon who, by then, owned all the movie houses in the city.45
Meretsky lost the 1913 election but he regained his seat the following year.46 Named to a committee specially set up to administer a $1,000 relief program for the unemployed and starving people of Marion Avenue, he also was reappointed to the public works, fire, and market committees.47 Since a new market remained his favourite project, he promoted another by-law that would authorize expenditure of $75,000 for a new building, arguing that the ultimate profits and receipts from such a venture would cover all construction costs. Well received by the public, the proposal was temporarily pre-empted by other issues, and eventually dropped altogether in favour of a new City Hall.48 Undaunted by the setback, Meretsky championed other projects that could help the local business community and improve conditions in the city. Opposing the early-closing law for shops and trying to enforce licensing of all wholesale meat dealers, he even attempted to stop the use of American-made baskets in the market.
In December 1914, Aaron Meretsky began to campaign for re-election. Despite attempts to publicize his achievements on a far more grandiose scale than before, he was defeated by Alderman William Weir.49 Yet, his political career was far from over. Relying on his ability to stay on as parks commissioner, a position he continued to fill intermittently until one year before his death, he not only sponsored a plan for a municipal golf course, but also actively promoted other recreational facilities, as well as ways to beautify the town.
Those interests formed the major part of Aaron Meretsky’s contributions to the City of Windsor. A highly visible and influential member of both the outer circle — city government — and of the Jewish community, Meretsky was a portly man, whose manners, apparently, were quite crude. Whatever he lacked in social graces, he made up with his willingness to help others. Apart from performing numerous charitable acts, he participated in the affairs of Windsor’s first synagogue and, even before becoming its president, liked to share with its members the warm and familiar Sabbath and holiday observances they all had enjoyed in the old country. There is no doubt that he passed on to children his love for Jewish tradition as well as his social conscience, since they all became respected members of the Windsor community.
Abraham, Jacob, and Michael Meretsky
Abraham, Aaron Meretsky’s older brother, stayed in Windsor only for a short while. He then moved to Detroit, where he worked as a tailor. Little is known about him, except that he arrived at Aaron’s house every Friday afternoon to spend the Sabbath with him and his family. On those occasions, the two brothers, apparently often shared a bottle of whiskey.
According to some newspaper articles, Aaron’s brother Jacob, who was five years older than he, had arrived in Windsor as early as 1875. However, it is more likely that he came later than Aaron.50 He first ran a boarding house, maintaining a “bottle” yard at the same time, while his later business ventures seemed to have included the buying and selling of real estate.51 In 1909, he also tried his luck in city politics, but failed in his bid to get elected.
Jacob and his wife, Shaney (Jenny), née Doniel, whom he had married in the old country, had eight children — Herman, Fanny, David, Bella, Libby, Clara, Peter, and another offspring who had died in early childhood. Herman, the eldest, born in 1878, eventually opened a furniture store on Pitt Street; he died in 1932. Fanny married Gilbert Weingarden in 1896, later divorcing him to become the wife of a man by the name of Komar.52 David, the second son of Jacob Meretsky, was born in 1884, attended medical school but never completed his studies. He went into business in 1903 and later became president of Meretsky & Gitlin, a firm that had started as a small second-hand store.53 David married Max Bernstein’s daughter, Goldie, and they adopted two children54 — Jerry, a son, about whom nothing is known, and Lillian, a daughter, who was married twice — first, to a Dr. J. R. Rogin and then to a Mr. Ouellette. Jacob and Jenny’s daughter, Bella, married Isaac Weingarden. Libby became the wife of Joshua Gitlin, Clara that of a Mr. Gutenberg from Detroit and, their youngest son, Peter, born in 1880, became a peddler at the age of 16. Jacob Meretsky died in 1925.55
Aaron Meretsky’s brother, Michael, born in Sztabin in 1873, came to Windsor in the 1890s. At first, he made his living as a peddler and then went into the scrap iron business. In the 1920s, he was made a county police constable. Having married Rachael Kahn of Bay City, Michigan in 1893, Michael and his wife became the parents of four daughters (Libby, Rhea, Rose, and Freda) and two sons (Harry and I. Bert). Rhea married Milton Simon, who died when he was 49 years old. Freda, born in 1909, became the wife of Edward Shonberg; she died at age 54. Rose was married to Cyrus Glass. I. Bert married Freda Cohen, and as noted earlier, brother Harry became the husband of Lillian, the daughter of his uncle Aaron.
Max Bernstein and His Family
Another early Jewish immigrant from Sztabin was Max Bernstein. He and his wife Ete Rive (Rebecca), Aaron Meretsky’s sister, arrived in Windsor some time before 1894, together with their two children — 4-year-old Albert and 3-year-old Sarah. In Russian Poland, Max had been a Hebrew scholar. However, since he could not continue his rabbinical studies in Windsor, he became a junk dealer. Max’s original family name had been Benstein. Soon after setting up residence at 24 Assumption Street, he added the “r” to it to avoid being confused with his first cousin Eli Herman Benstein, who often mistakenly received merchandise addressed to Max.56 After a while, Max must have felt that business opportunities would be better south of the border. He moved his family to Detroit, only to come back to Canada some time later and, although we do not know the exact date of their return, it must have been before August 24, 1887, since on that day the birth of their daughter Goldie was recorded in Sandwich, Ontario — the second Jewish child to be born in the Windsor area after Moses Eleazer David.57 Max and Rebecca had five more children. Peter, also born in Sandwich, arrived on August 22, 1888 and eventually became a dentist. A third son, Michael, died when he was just 4 years old and, another daughter, Libby, passed away on September 30, 1904, at the young age of 14; she was buried at the Beth Olam Cemetery in Detroit. Another son, Monte, later became a physician, and Belle, their youngest, eventually married Dr. Eli Levin.58
Max Bernstein’s brothers Nathan, Shel, and Tevia and his sisters, Rifka and Chankie, also came to Windsor. Nothing is known about Shel and Tevia. However, Nathan’s name appears in the city directory as early as 1894. Their sister Rifka, later married a Mr. Wiseman, and Chankie became the wife of Abraham Bernstein (no close relation of the family).59
Trying to fit into his new environment, Max Bernstein peddled his wares as judiciously as his brother-in-law, Aaron Meretsky. Although he failed
