Dartmouth Sportsplex to carry family name of former mayor Joseph Zatzman
More than eight decades after Joseph Zatzman opened his small grocery store in downtown Dartmouth, N.S., the businessman and former mayor's family is giving thanks for the community's support by donating $750,000 to the local Sportsplex.
In return, the refurbished sports facility will carry the Zatzman name when it resumes regular operations Feb. 25.
Speaking in the brand new foyer of the facility, son Michael Zatzman said Jewish families were often not accepted in largely Catholic neighbourhoods when his father and mother moved to Dartmouth in 1934 and established the Community Groceteria.
"Joe had two wonderful gifts: foresight and not-so-common common sense," he said.
"With these gifts and others, he was able to build bridges — not walls — between different sectors of our Dartmouth community and the wider province of Nova Scotia and beyond."
Aside from being a respected entrepreneur, Joseph Zatzman was widely celebrated for his political endeavours. He was elected as mayor of Dartmouth in 1963, becoming the only Jewish mayor in the community's history.
In 1997, Zatzman was named to the Order of Canada and recognized for his achievements in rejuvenating the region's economy and his leadership in the creation of the Burnside Industrial Park. Zatzman died in 2007 at the age of 95.
Rather than help fund capital improvements, the Zatzman family donation to the Sportsplex will be used to create free programs, including gym and pool time, as well as some fitness classes.
The family wants the Zatzman Sportsplex to "be a gathering place for Dartmouth families of all kinds," said Michael Zatzman.
"We especially hope that this will be a friendly place for the youth in our community," he said. "We hope that the extra touches ... may enhance lives, change lives and maybe even save some lives."
Max Chauvin, the facility's general manager, said the donation will allow the Sportsplex to keep free programs running for the next five years.
"There are people who want to be active, there [are] families who want to come swimming," said Chauvin.
"They want to bring their kids down, but they can't afford it.... This will create a time for them when they can come and use the facility."
Halifax Mayor Michael Savage said he was glad the former Dartmouth mayor's name would be on the building.
"He was a guy who grew up poor," Savage told reporters.
"He fought discrimination through much of his life as a Jew growing up in at a time when they weren't welcome in all the avenues of power."
