Did the narrow brick building on North Battleford’s Railway Avenue seem like a castle to shoemaker Jake Marjan when he established his business there in 1932?
At the insistence of his parents, who saw no future for him in Yugoslavia, Marjan immigrated to Canada in 1926. Arriving in Halifax with $5 in his pocket, the 26-year-old immediately found work and sent money home to reimburse his parents for the ticket to Canada. From there he worked his way across Canada, employed by lumber companies and the railroad, until he reached North Battleford. There he looked for work in the shoemaking trade he had learned in his homeland.
In 1931 he met and married Lottie Martin who had emigrated from Poland and whose family farmed in the area. In 1932 the young couple commissioned a small brick building to be built where Jake could establish his own business, a shoe shop he would run for the next 50 years. Marjan returned to Yugoslavia only once to share the news of his marriage and new business in Canada. Before another decade passed, the Second World War raged and Marjan’s parents had died in concentration camps.
This small brick building represents a Battlefords area story from beginning to end. It reflects a Saskatchewan story of immigration and making good use of skills honed in a far-off land. The dream the elder Marjans had for their son and the children he might have came true in Canada, in North Battleford.
Marjan did not keep the construction records in 1932. We do not know the bricklayer or where the bricks were made. We do not know how long it took to build or how much the building cost. We do know that it was a familiar sight for more than five decades, a place where no pair of shoes was marked with its owner’s name, but every pair and owner were remembered by the shoemaker. The smells of leather and polish were absorbed into the brick until 1979 when, nearing 80 years old, Marjan retired.
Now the brick building is in its 80s and its bones are weakening. The ceiling, walls, floor and windows need attention. At this time the brick building is not open to the public because of these problems. Your purchase of a Great Escapes Vacation Lottery ticket from the WDM supports the preservation of this unique landmark, one of North Battleford’s early brick buildings.
