Max Sklower, Early Jewish Pioneer Baker & Hotel Owner/Builder of Helena, Montana
Max Sklower
Values Codes I – E – L
Max Sklower was born in 1842, in Prussia, Germany.
He was a baker by trade.
In 1866, Max Sklower came to America and headed West until he settled in Helena, Montana.
In 1889, he was naturalized as an American citizen.
In Helena, Sklower worked as a pastry chef at the old St. Louis Hotel.
With his boss, Chef V. Charles Rinda, Sklower bought the Imperial Restaurant and the International Hotel in Helena.
He eventually left the International Hotel and bought the first billiard hall in Helena.
Sklower went on to lease the Springs Hotel in White Sulpher Springs, and built the Great Northern Hotel in Malta.
Max Sklower was a member of the Odd Fellows, and Past-Master of the Diamond City Masonic Lodge.
He was also a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen in Montana.
Sklower married Bettie Silverman (1862-1951) in 1880.
They had two sons: Josef (1881-1969) and Emanuel (b.1884).
Max Sklower died in 1920 in Helena.
He is buried in the Home of Peace Cemetery.
Bettie Sklower died in 1951.
Julie L. Coleman, Golden Opportunities: A Biographical History of Montana's Jewish Communities (Helena, MT: SkyHouse Publishers, 1994).
Moses Morris papers, 1894-1932, Montana Historical Society Research Center – Archives and Photographs Archives. http://184.168.105.185/archivegrid/collection/data/420247227
Montana Women's History, http://montanawomenshistory.org/using-quilts-as-a-window-into-montana-womens-history/#more-2082
Samantha Silver is our curator for this Max Sklower exhibit.
On August 20, 2014 / Montana
Back to Montana Exhibit Hall
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