EXHIBITS
100 Years of Congregation Brith Sholem: Honoring the Jewish Community in Ogden, Utah: Herman Rubin and Lillian Fogel Rubin
Herman Rubin and Lillian Fogel Rubin
Herman Rubin, son of Louis and Jenny Rubin, was born in Ogden on July 31, 1918. After attending Weber College and working for the Ogden Union Railway and Depot company, he enlisted in the army during World War II. Safely returning to Ogden after his service in the army, Herman went into retail business management. In 1946 he began a partnership with his brother, Abe Rubin, who owned The Gift House. In 1957 Herman became a manager of Faim Sporting Goods in Salt Lake City. In 1960 Herman and his wife, Lillian, started their own business, Sav-On, also referred to as SavOn, a department store specializing in sporting goods, at 2229 Washington Avenue.[1]
Lillian Fogel was born in Denver, Colorado, on August 17, 1922. She married Herman on November 23, 1947, and moved with him to Ogden. There they raised three children: Marc, Michael, and Bobbi. Lillian was extremely active as a member of Congregation Brith Sholem and helped prepare Jewish children for their Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. Her daughter, Bobbi, recalls her parents being great hosts and always had tons of people over to their house during the holidays, especially Christmas. Bobbi remembers her grandfather commenting to her mother, Lillian, that she should make food and festivities for Christmas, so her Christian friends would not have to work on the holidays they celebrated. Lillian agreed and Bobbi remembers their first Christmas gathering at their house was filled with about 100 people. This tradition continued until her father passed away in 1979. Bobbi also remembers how supportive and caring her mother was to everyone around her. “My Mom’s friends were eclectic. Every religion and nationality. If one was sick or had problems, she’d cook and clean for them and she remembered all their kids and family health problems and was there for them.”[2]
This sentiment of care and support carried on into the family business. Through SavOn, the Rubin family aided in many local charities and sporting activities. In fact, the SavOn Sporting Goods name is well known among Utah sports, as the company has sponsored numerous “leagues and teams from little league through the collegiate level.”[3]
The first SavOn location on Washington Avenue was closed and the building demolished in 1978 to make way for the new Ogden City Mall. Unfortunately, this mall, ironically shut down and demolished in 2002, hindered many other businesses, including B & B Clothes Shop of the Benowitz family and Jack Lyon’s clothing business.
Without a new location, Marc Rubin, son of Herman and Lillian, decided to reopen the shop in his parent’s garage. Marc, born February 8, 1949, in Ogden, told The Ogden Standard-Examiner in 2002, “I opened up in my mom and dad’s garage and basement. The garage was the warehouse, the basement was the showroom.”[4] This peculiar venture was successful, and Marc found a small location to open a new shop for SavOn at Thirty-Ninth Street and Washington Boulevard.[5] Herman Rubin died from a heart attack shortly after this success for the Rubin family on December 16, 1979. Lillian continued working at SavOn as a bookkeeper until she passed on March 24, 1997.[6]
In 1997 Marc decided to open another larger location for SavOn at 300 West at Riverdale Road in Ogden. However, owning two shops was not successful and Marc eventually moved the entire business to its newest location. After many successes, Marc was diagnosed with cancer in 2003. Less than a month after this diagnosis, Marc passed on August 25, 2003. As his obituary states in The Salt Lake Tribune, “[Marc] was called up to the ‘Big League’ by the Heavenly Manager.”[7]
Marc’s brother, Mike Rubin, took over the business until 2009, when former employee of SavOn and longtime friend of the Rubin family, Justin Nakaishi, along with his brother, Jason, and father, Jeff, bought SavOn. The new owners relocated the business to 2736 South 1900 West and is still in operation and owned by the Nakiashi’s, with Justin as the store manager.[8]
Justin Nakiashi plans to continue honoring SavOn Sporting Goods with the same care and support for the local community of Ogden as well as the same love of sports that the Rubin’s gave. Nakiashi told The Ogden Standard-Examiner journalist Brett Hein in 2020 that “Marc took care of the community, he took care of people, so we just stayed loyal to those guys . . . we try to replicate that.”[9]
The Rubin family is not only well known in Ogden for the love and support they have showed for local sports, but also for their contributions and participation with Congregation Brith Sholem and other Jewish organizations, like the B’nai B’rith Chapter of Ogden and the Ogden Jewish Welfare.[10]