TRANSCRIPT

Interview of Eddie Duke by Marlene Gamble July, 2003

Mr. Breland and Mr. Kussner decided to open a store in Cochrane, which they called Perkus Limited. They got off the railway, working for the railway, and they opened their first store in Cochrane. And then when the gold strike came in Kirkland Lake they decided to open a store in Kirkland Lake. The Kirkland Lake store was called Perkus Limited. Also, Morris Breland's store was located there for quite a while. But the building was divided into two parts, half of which Morris Breland shared, and the other half originally when the building was built, became the home of the Woolworth's Store in Kirkland Lake. That business existed for quite a while.

Jacob Kussner had a sister Sonia and he brought Sonia to Kirkland Lake and she later married a man by the name of Rosenberg. She was the manager of the ladies' wear section of Perkus Limited as it existed in Kirkland Lake, I would say until about, if I remember correctly until about 1935, late thirties, when they then rented the old, made a deal to rent the building to Woolworth's Limited.

By this time they had already established a branch of Perkus Limited in Kapuskasing. Another branch was established in Iroquois Falls. Different members of the family operated these businesses. They were quite successful businesses.