Papineau
 

People
       					 
BICK

Lorraine Bick tells about the family
Philip Teitelbaum's taped recollections (also in this segment: Acomsky, Stein. Diamond)
Syd Atlas, a cousin, tells about Papineau people he knew
Photograph
Bick family lineage through three generations 





Lorraine Bick tells about the family (August 2008)

My father's side of the family is from Papineau.  I was delighted to
see my family mentioned on your website.  I decided to write to you to
give you more information.  I hope it's helpful.

My father, Bernard (Bucky) Bick, grew up at 6705 Garnier Street.  You
mention his brother, Stanley (a.k.a. Mulley or Schmulke) on your
website.  Also on Garnier Street lived the Dash Family, the Spino
Family, the Browns Family and the Creatchman Family.  My grandparents
were Rochel Leah and Eleazar (a.k.a. Laizer Mottel).  I was born in
1960 so I never got to meet my grandparents.  They 8 children:
Bertha, Bessie, Daphne, Nelson, Bernard (my father), Berdye (a.k.a
Fagel), Stanley (a.k.a. Mulley or Schmulke) and Sheila.  My Aunt
Sheila is the only survivor of this large family.

My grandfather, Laizer Mottel, traded livestock.  From pictures I have
seen of him, he was a short fellow with a glint in his eye.  I have
been told that he had bright, blue eyes, a fiery temper, a sense of
humour and a lust for life.  My father told me once that when he was a
little boy, he wandered into the barn where a horse had died.  My
grandfather gave him a smack on the behind (a 'patch in tochis' as my
father said) so that he would only remember getting a smack and forget
the sight of the dead horse.  Of course, it took my father many years
to understand my grandfather's actions, but he remembered both events!
 My grandfather passed away in 1950 from a heart attack.
Unfortunately, my grandparents are not buried in the same section of
the de la Savane cemetary as the rest of the family.  My parents,
aunts and uncles are buried in the Tifereth Beth David Jerusalem
section whereas my grandparents are buried in the Old Victoria
Section.  When I asked my parents, years ago, why this was so, the
explanation was my grandfather's temper.  As you know, at the time
there was the 'White Shul' and the 'Red Shul'.  Before passing away,
my grandfather had had a fight with someone at one of these two shuls
and promptly joined the other.

My grandmother, Rochel Leah, had a full-time job taking care of the
home, her 8 children and my grandfather.  She doted on her three sons.
 The house on Garnier was small but there was always room for a guest
or two.
When my father and Uncle Mulley were overseas during World War II,
Auntie Fagel told me that my grandmother would stand on the porch to
wait for the mailman hopefully bringing news from her boys.  When
there was a letter, she would anxiously await someone to come home to
read it to her.  If there was nothing, she would discreetly pick up
the corner of her apron and wipe her eyes.
My aunts had told me that the women of that generation like my
grandmother were illiterate.  I always thought that women like my
grandmother must have been very intelligent to keep all their
knowledge stored in their brains, rather than on paper.  My
grandmother made her own bread without a recipe book.  I don't know
any modern woman who could do that.  Also, remedies for illnesses and
other maladies were not written down.  One evening many years ago, I
was cooking with Jalapeno peppers.  I didn't know that you are
supposed to wear gloves when doing so.  My fingers began to burn and
my father said that if we had any cream in the frigidaire, I should
put it on my fingers.  When I asked him how he knew that, he said that
when he was a boy, these other boys grabbed him and shoved a hot
pepper in his mouth.  When he ran home to his mother, she made
compresses with cream to calm the burning sensation.
My grandmother was very close with Mrs. Spino, and Italian lady who
lived next door.  Neither my grandmother nor Mrs. Spino spoke English
or French, but they understood each other because their lives were so
similar.  When my grandmother gave birth, Mrs. Spino was there to help
and my grandmother helped Mrs. Spino.
My grandmother passed away in 1953 of a stroke.
All my father's siblings remained in Montreal except for Daphne, who
settled in New York after serving in the Canadian Air Force during
World War II.
My father, Bernard (Bucky) marrried my mother, Sarah, in 1946.  They
were first cousins but my mother grew up in a small town in Ontario
called Chesterville.  My father worked for Reuben Dubrofsky, another
Papineau resident you mentioned on your website, in his aluminium
business.  My father was very close friends with Abe Browns, Harry
Creatchman and Jack Dash.  My father passed away in 1998 and my
mother, in 2005.






Philip Teitelbaum's taped recollections (July 2007)

Note: Audio is ON

Philip: Bick, I think that they lived either at the north end of Papineau or one of those other streets,
	Garnier or something. But the guy's name was Stanley Bick. Nice guy. About Issie's age.

	Now...OK...on Papineau south going from Beaubien going south Bellechasee and Rosemount, on the
	west side. Acomsky, he had a 15 cent store. I think Leo Lutsky married their daughter.
	Stein next. Mr Stein owned the mortgage on the house that Mr Diamond built, that eventually
	my father bought, that Moe Sorkin said "It's a white elephant". Mr. Stein owned that. When my
	father bought it, there was a little bit of a...some bad feeling going on because they felt that
	Mr Diamond had lost it. Stein I know had the mortgage. So they went to Mr Nebach who was the
	arbitrator, and my father paid a certain amount of money to Mr Diamond. Good will, compensation.
	6299 Marquette Street. And it's no longer there, but the way. And it was beautiful place.
	And that's the one where Mr Trub used to keep his skins downstairs. The Trubs lived there at one
	time.

	At one time, Jack Diamond, the son of the original Mr Diamond, who owned the bakery shop, Jack and
	his wife Fanny lived there too. Fanny Diamond....

Shirley: Who wants coffee, who wants Coke, who wants what?

Peter: I'm good, Ma.

Shirley: Coke? Nothing for Philip?

Philip: I'll have coffee. Fanny Diamond, used to, in order to earn extra money, she had delivered to her
	house, like little cartons and they were all cut out to be folded and they were for cheese.
	They would put the cheese in them. So, my mother would send me in there to sit at her kitchen table
	and fold these things for her. My mother was like a mother to her.
	Stein, Diamond - after Stein was the Diamond Bakery. The Diamond Bakery, because we lived behind
	the Diamond Bakery at 6299 - when we wanted to take a bath, my father would go down to the bakery,
	take pails of boiling hot water, bring them, go upstairs with them, pour them and that's where we got
	the hot water.




Syd Atlas, a cousin, tells about the Papineau people he knew (August 2008)

"I, Syd Atlas was not really born in Papineau but I had first cousins who were the Bick family who lived on the
corner of St. Zotique and Garnier.   I first started visiting with them when I was 10 years old.  That was back in 
1932. The first thing I really remember were the jewish families that lived on Garnier starting with my cousins and
an uncle who lived at 6705 Garnier.  Across the road on the South corner was Brown's garage operated by Abe 
Browns.  Going south on Garnier next to the garage was Abe Browns' uncle.  Further down the road was the 
Creathsman family and a little further down was the Copelovitch family.  I first met Abe Weiss who lived on St Zotique 
and through Abe I met your father Phil and your uncle Harry.  I also met Jack Letofsky who lived on Papineau St. and 
his brother Eddy. I also met Slick (Irving)Selig and the rest of "the Bernstein Gang".  Your dad can explain to you how 
close the guys in our gang were, and of course I know your mother Shirley and they all knew my late wife Nettie."




Photograph 

Lorraine Bick wrote: "I found a photograph taken in front of the Calumet Garage, owned by Abe Browns.  The little
boy you see right to the left of the bicycle is Eidel Creatchman.  My father standing to the right of the bicycle,
wearing a light-coloured suit and fedora.  The photo was taken in May 1939 and the garage was located on Garnier corner
St-Zotique."



Bick family lineage












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