Because Beryl and Mintzi Rose wanted the family to stay together, Beryl organized a family club in Toronto in 1945, shortly before he died. In 1980, more than 100 members of the Rose clan attended a 35th anniversary reunion at Beth Torah Synagogue, the Canadian Jewish News reported on October 2, 1980.
Eleven of Beryl and Mintzi’s 13 surviving children moved from Russia to Canada by the 1920s. Mintzi died in 1933, Beryl in 1945.
During a family dinner, toasts were offered, telegrams read, speeches made, old home movies shown, awards presented and old pictures displayed. Participants included Joe, son of Beryl and Mintzi, and Joe’s son, Larry; Sarah Koszorek, Ida and Saul Shafer; Dave Rose (grandchildren) and Marilyn and Marvin Cohen; and Sheldon and Ruth Rose (great-grandchildren).
The Roses, who had changed their surname from Temnyagorod, came from the town of Pullen, Ukraine, near the Polish border. The 13 surviving children were separated by an age span of more than 20 years. They were: Nathan, Chasi, Sima, Louis, Max, Leah, Bella, Chaya, Abie, Gussie, Jennie, Simeon and Joe. (Bella, Chaya, Bussie, Jennie and Joe were still living in 1980.)
In Ukraine, Beryl had bribed officials to keep his sons out of the army. When the money ran out, Louis and Max managed to escape and came to Canada in 1913. The story goes that, in Halifax, an immigration officer told Max, “You can’t have that last name — I’ll give you a good honest name,” then gave him his own name — Rose.
Traveling with a cousin, Bella and Leah joined their brothers in Toronto in 1920; Nathan arrived 1921 with his young family. Most of the other siblings arrived with their parents in 1922; the family at first lived on Leonard Avenue, and eventually on Cecil Street near Grange Avenue.
Sisters Chasi and Sima, who were already married in Russia, stayed in the Old Country and died during World War Two.
Having owned a tailor and yard goods shop in Russia, Beryl started a needle trade and linen supply company in Toronto. It was estimated that four grandchildren were named after him and another four after Mintzi. Descendants had spread to Detroit and Los Angeles; those in attendance at the reunion ranged from 82-year-old Annie (Max’s wife) and two-year-old Elliott Silverstein.
About 30 relatives attended monthly meetings, said Dave Rose, who had been the club’s treasurer since its founding. The club had no president. Sarah Koszorek, who mother was a daughter of Beryl and Mintzi, said her mother had kept records of meetings in Yiddish for 27 years. Ida Shafer, a niece of Beryl and Mintzi’s, had taken over as secretary. ♦
