- by Ryan Handlarski
I was devastated to learn about the death of Lorne Rich, the proprietor of a men's clothing store in Owen Sound called Kornblum's. With the sudden closing of his store due to an act of arson and his passing shortly thereafter, I feel that something has been lost that not everyone may grasp or appreciate.
I am a criminal lawyer in Toronto and last summer had a case in Owen Sound and the opportunity to go there for the first time. I am also Jewish. When I was planning to go to Owen Sound, I decided to stay the night rather than wake up early and drive there. I always like exploring towns I have never been to because of the possibility of discovering something new or interesting.
After I had arrived in Owen Sound and on the way to my hotel, I saw the sign for Kornblum's and it had immediate significance to me. I was aware of the history of Jews in small towns across the country and immediately recognized Kornblum's as the Jewish-owned store that had been there for decades. Kornblum's gave me a personal connection to a town that I had never been to and reminded me of an interesting part of the history of this province. A store like Kornblum's is a reminder that Jews went to small towns all across the province and country in search of opportunities and to get away from city centres, which tended to rely more on established systems and conventions. Until very recently, Jews were aware that the systems and conventions in place tended to discriminate against them and they were always looking for areas of freedom where they could earn a living free from discrimination. They found these areas of freedom in small towns across the country. Towns like Owen Sound.
I did not have to leave my legal bubble to understand the significance of a Jewish owned store in Owen Sound, how it was a reminder of the freedom and opportunity given to Jews in this country and how it made me feel a connection to a town that I had never been to: Eddie Greenspan, my former employer, was from Niagara Falls where his family owned a scrap metal yard. Bora Laskin, the first Jewish Supreme Court Justice, was from Thunder Bay where his family owned a furniture store and his brother Saul was once its mayor. So when I saw the sign for Kornblum's, my eyes immediately lit up with delight. I was not alone in this town I had never been to. I felt at home.
The next day I woke up in my hotel expecting to drive straight to the courthouse. As luck would have it, I realized that when I packed for my trip I brought my suit, but not a shirt or a tie. I quickly drove straight to Kornblum's to solve this most fortuitous of problems and was more excited to go shopping than I have ever been.
When I went into Kornblum's, I was met by a sales associate, Rodney, that immediately sized me up and offered a suggestion for a shirt and tie. It was perfect and exactly the kind of experience I want going to a men's store that I would never get in Toronto. There is something special in going to a men's store in a small town where the owner and staff may have more limited stock than a large store in Toronto, but are able to compensate by better serving their customers because they have more time to spend and more experience with customers that they actually get to know. It was such a good experience that I vowed to return to meet Lorne Rich and buy my very own Kornblum's suit.
Luckily for me, my case did not complete in one day and I returned to Owen Sound two weeks later. I went to Kornblum's and met with Lorne and we talked for more than an hour about our backgrounds, our shared experiences and history and how much we had in common. He told me about the Jewish community in Owen Sound and proudly told me that the Beth Ezekiel synagogue is the only active synagogue for a town the size of Owen Sound. He proudly told me about his family and the history of his men's clothing store that he had run for decades and that his family had run for decades before him. He spent a long time with me discussing what he had in stock and going through catalogues to discuss what he could order for me with no obligation on my part to buy even if it had been ordered. I chose two suits I liked from the catalogue and said I would return again as my case continued. After the suits arrived, I went a third time to 'kibitz' with him some more and try on the suits, which had to be altered to fit properly. My case had ended that day and when I asked if I had to make a special trip to pick up the suits in Owen Sound, Lorne told me not to worry and that he would figure something out.
About a week later, I got a phone call from Lorne advising me that he was in Toronto with my suits and could drop them off. I was at a Starbucks near where I live and where, as it happened, he had partly grown up in the Bathurst and Wilson area in Toronto. Lorne came and met me and we had coffee together as if we were old friends. I then invited my wife and our two children to come meet us so this man that I had this unique experience with and had grown so fond of could meet my family. All of this emanating from a chance encounter with the historic Jewish owned store in Owen Sound and in a matter of weeks. It was something special that could never happen in a big city like Toronto.
I love my two suits that I bought at Kornblum's. I loved them so much that a few months later, I Googled "Kornblum's" to get the number with an intention to make a special trip to Owen Sound to do some more kibitzing with my friend Lorne, buy more suits and experience the connection with this town in Ontario where I felt at home. You cannot imagine my shock and sadness when I learned that Kornblum's had been destroyed by an act of arson and that Lorne Rich had died shortly after.
Lorne Rich was full of life. While in his seventies, he had not slowed down. He was working hard at his business and making sure that his customers were happy, as he had for decades. He had a lot left to give. I know this because of how he treated me and how hard he had worked to help me just months before he died. I am concerned that the people of Owen Sound have no idea what has been lost with his sudden passing and the closing of his store: a connection to the history of this province and country that reminds people that small towns afforded Jewish immigrants the freedom and opportunities that large cities often denied them and a connection to every Jewish person in this country that is aware of this special history.
What has me most saddened is that he was a good man. He deserved a better ending. As we say in the Jewish tradition, may his memory be for a blessing.
