MAX AND IRENE ZACK AND FAMILY

by Max Zack

Max and Irene bought out Mrs. Finlay (Eva) Ross's business in Black Diamond in the latter part of 1929. Mrs. Ross was also the Post Mistress. The post office did not go with the store, so Max ran the store and boarded the Ross' until they got other accommodation. When they moved out Mrs. Zack and their baby daughter, Miriam, joined Max from Calgary. The store was a two-story house that they rented from Mrs. Hovis. The front of the house was the store, the back was the kitchen and the upstairs was the living quarters. They had to take a window out to haul their furniture in.

It was rather primitive in Black Diamond then, no running water, the pump on the well was outside. In the winter Max had to prime the pump with hot water. The privy was at the back of the lot. Eventually, Max had a pipe brought from the well into the house, and a small pump set up beside the kitchen sink, but they still had to take the used water out. They had to dig down over six feet to keep the pipe from freezing. Their bath was a big wash tub on the kitchen floor. When the new modern Black Diamond Hotel was built they could have a real bath there for a small charge.

The 1930's were the depression years and, as the store was small, the business was poor. It was a question of either expand or give up. There was a lot for sale nearby and one of the oil companies in the South End had some spare bunk houses. They were 22' by 44' and solidly built so they bought the lot and two bunk houses. A couple of local carpenters put them together and made a nice building for them. They had a cellar dug, a well drilled beside the building and there was a good flow of water. They connected a pressure pump, a hot water tank and all the plumbing. A septic tank outside, so they had a very comfortable, modern apartment to live in and, of course, their own bathroom.

When the building was finished they had a dance in the store part before they put the fixtures and stock in. With the larger store and more stock, business improved considerably. They stayed in Black Diamond for 15 ½ years. When the road between Okotoks and Turner Valley was paved there was more traffic both ways. The village grew and more people started to build modern homes.

Those were the days of low prices; like milk at tens cents a quart and butter thirty-five cents a pound. One time Irene and Max went to Calgary on their wedding anniversary. They had dinner and danced at the Hotel Palliser. They each had a Porter House steak as big as a platter with all the trimmings, for only two dollars and fifty cents each. In the summer they used to go on picnics in the hills west of Turner Valley. One day a fellow came to Black Diamond with a small aeroplane. He was taking people up for a flight for five dollars. Max went up with him and took their little daughter Miriam with him. They could see everything below in miniature. It was interesting to see both sides of the big hill at the same time. The river looked like a big silver ribbon and the fields looked like a patchwork quilt with green, brown, yellow and black squares. Irene was in Calgary that day and was quite upset when they told her about the flight. Although Miriam was just a little girl, she still remembers it.

One year there was a rumor of a gold discovery north of Morley and several people from Black Diamond went. Finlay Ross and Max decided to go also. They each made up a back-pack with about 40lbs of supplies. They got a neighbour to drive them to an old sawmill in the hills which seemed to be the starting point. When they arrived there, some fellows were just leaving for the site of the gold find. They were taking some supplies on pack horses. They told them they could go with them if they wanted to ride the pack horses. Since that was the best they could get, besides not knowing the exact route, they accepted their offer. Riding a horse on top of a pack is not a very comfortable way to travel. By the time they got to the location of the supposed gold find, it was evening. A party there was just finishing their meal and the offered to share it with them as they were ready to leave.

There was no gold. It seemed some Indians started the rumor to get some money guiding. There were even some prospectors from California. Everyone left except Finlay and Max. The Black Diamond party got lost. It was getting dark but by shouting back and forth they got back to camp. Finaly and Max decided to stay and enjoy the outing. The weather was nice and the country beautiful. On the third day they started back. They had to cross some muskeg and had to pick out the high spots to step on. They saw a bull moose on the way so decided to detour, they didn't want to attract his attention. It wouldn't be easy to run through the swamp if the moose decided to come after them. They had arranged with their neighbour to meet them at the mill later that day. They had to hike about 15 miles. The going was rough; there was no road or trail, they were going up hills and down gullies, over and under fallen logs. It was four o'clock by the time they arrived at the meeting place. Their friend came along soon after.

In Max's younger days when he lived in the East he had gone harvesting on the prairies and used to talk about it to his farmer customers in the store.

In January 1933 their second daughter, Jacquelin, was born. It seems the winters were colder then. Max remembers one winter when they had 50 below for 40 days without a break.

In 1938 there was a Polio epidemic in Alberta and several people in the Valley got it. Irene was the first adult to come down with it. Luckily, Dr. Lander, who was practicing in the Valley at the time, recognized what it was, he brought a specialist out and he confirmed the diagnosis. In those days there wasn't any treatment for Polio. They made Irene as comfortable as possible. Doctor Lander said they had an Iron lung ready but Irene got by without it. On October sixth they had another daughter, Naomi. Mrs. Ross, who was a retired nurse, assisted Dr. Lander with the delivery. Later Irene went to the University Hospital in Edmonton where the polio patients were getting special treatment. Irene's sister in Calgary took care of the children while she was in the hospital. Max went to visit her every other week or so. On April first, 1939 Trans Canada Air Lines had the first flight from Calgary to Edmonton and Max arranged to go on it. It snowed heavily that morning and they almost cancelled the flight. However, the weather cleared after a couple of hours and they decided to go. That was a small, only ten passenger plane. It took two hours to fly to Edmonton.

In May 1939 the late King George VI and the Queen visited the hospital in Edmonton; Irene just started to get up on her feet so was able to go outside to see the Royalty. While Irene was ill and away in the hospital very few people came to trade in our store, but when Max brought Irene home later in June new people started to come in and business picked up again. In 1945 they sold out and went East. They must have been of some esteem in Black Diamond as the people gave them a big going away party and gifts.

Max lived in Toronto as a young man and Irene had a sister, Evelyn, living in Espanola, Ontario then. Evelyn's husband was an engineer with the company that was constructing a new pulp mill. Max worked there for a while, however, the lure of the west was too strong and they came back to Calgary. They decided to look around Vancouver. Finlay and Eva Ross were living in North Vancouver then and met them at the train. They stayed with them for a few days while they looked around for something to establish in.

On March 1st, 1946 they took over a motel in White Rock, B.C. called The Coldicutt Villas. Over the years they had some of the Black Diamond people visit them. They operated this motel for 22 years when they sold out and retired in 1968. Mrs. Zack was born in Buxton, Derbyshire, England and she wanted to visit there. They were lucky to get a reservation on the P.N.O. Liner and were on the ship two weeks after they sold out.

Their daughters finished their schooling in White Rock. Miriam and Jacquelin went to University in Vancouver, Namoi graduated in nursing. They all married. Miriam and her husband Andree Haavik operate a fishing lodge at Nimpo Lake near Bella Coola up the coast. In the winter they stay with us in White Rock. Jacquelin Johnstone has a master's degree in Education and teaches in Port Coquitlam. Naomi married an officer in the Armed Forces. They have been posted in Germany on two occasions for three periods and are now living in Calgary.

Miriam had three children and two grandchildren, which makes us great-grandparents. Jacquelin has two girls. Naomi has no children.

On April 1st, 1974 Air Canada celebrated the 35th anniversary of the first Trans Canada Flight. Since Max was one of the first passengers on that flight, Irene and Max were invited to go on a special flight from Vancouver to Toronto. This time it was a 747 Jet. They were treated royally; pictures, interviews, champagne, birthday cake and all hotel accommodations in Toronto. On March 2nd 1978, they will be celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

From, "IN THE LIGHT OF THE FLARES," pg 746-747
1979 published by Sheep River Historical Society