The Second Wave

“The annual anniversary sale in November at Rivelis’ Department Store, 1962. The store was located on the north side of the Capitol Centre on Main Street.”

Photo Courtesy of Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre, accession 2007-7-10.

Although the Jewish community never exceeded 1% of the population, they owned over half of the stores in North Bay. The Rivelis store was founded in 1926; it was only one among many. There were 29 Jewish-owned business on Main Street by 1963. Typically, the retailers would travel to Toronto or Montreal to buy the latest fashions or arrange custom work from their wholesalers.

The importance of the Rivelis’ annual sale is shown by the size of the crowd, the dressed-up customers, and the fact that Nugget photographer, John McNeill, was assigned to record it.