William Rubin Sklut came to the United States as a 23-year-old Russian emigrant in 1902. With his wife and children, Israel and Ida, he settled in Providence and, in 1910, purchased a two-tenement house on Sabra Street in Cranston. That November, William filed an agreement with the Secretary of State to form a corporation with Abraham Davis, Barnet Fain, Maurice Jacobson and Samuel Simon to be called the Anshe Olneyville Association. The purpose of the association was that of religion and charitable work.         

William converted his new house into a single-family dwelling in which to house his growing family which soon included Harry, Stella, Hilda, Eli and Bertha. Another child, Sadie, had died of appendicitis in 1910 at the age of five. An expansive indoor porch was added to the house to accommodate Bertha who lived with a spinal disability.  

A merchant tailor by trade, William owned a shop in Olneyville Square and worked by the sight of one eye, having lost his left eye after being hit in the face with a rock. For a few years he put aside his tailoring to attempt the life of a farmer but was not successful in the pursuit and returned to what he knew best.

The Skluts and others of the Jewish faith living in Cranston had quite a ways to travel in order to worship. The nearest synagogue was in South Providence. William decided to alleviate this problem by housing his family on the first floor of his home and utilizing the second floor as a small place of worship where a rabbi could come and regularly address those who came to gather there. William installed appropriate seating, set up a separate area for women and built an alter from which the Torah he’d brought to America could be read. Those of the Jewish faith who lived nearby were grateful to be able to attend religious services without traveling so far.

Many years later, 1949, the Cranston Jewish Community Club was gifted on Rosh Hashanah by William, along with Meyer Fried and his wife, with two Torahs, one of which had originally been used locally for religious worship half a century prior. The larger of the Torahs was presented by the Frieds while the smaller one had been that previously utilized in William’s makeshift synagogue.   

The Sklut family seems to have been one in which difficulties were accepted but overcome as best as possible. From William’s compromised sight to the lack of a nearby place to worship, the Skluts appear to have played the cards they were dealt with an optimistic outlook.

Despite her health issues, daughter Bertha was an extension member of the Girl Scouts, being presented with a complete uniform by the organization when she was 12 years old. She was also treated to yearly performances of the Shrine Circus which were performed for the enjoyment of disabled children in Rhode Island. Each year, the Cranston Police Department undertook the mission of getting Bertha to the circus, transporting her to the locale in a police ambulance. Despite being unable to sit during the show due to her physical constraints, Bertha enjoyed the annual shows and all the free hot dogs, popcorn, soda, ice cream and peanuts that went along with them.

William’s son Harry graduated from the Rhode Island College of Pharmacy and went on to open the first drug store in Olneyville in 1929 - the Olneyville Pharmacy. His daughter Stella attended Katherine Gibbs School and later served as a member of the Women’s Association of the Jewish Home for the Aged. Son Israel, called “Izzy” by friends and family, became a garage mechanic. Sons-in-law and daughters-in-law were welcomed into the Sklut family along with grandchildren, moving from that close-knit farmhouse in Cranston and spreading their lives across the country. William died in 1957 and was laid to rest in Lincoln Park Cemetery in Warwick, leaving a legacy of determination, a lesson in resourcefulness.

Kelly Sullivan is a Rhode Island columnist, lecturer and author.