Rubin “Ruby” Caslow, owner of America’s largest smoked fish corporation, died at age 86. He succumbed to cancer April 8 at his home in Long Island, N.Y.
Caslow joined his father-in-law’s business, the Acme Smoked Fish Corp. — so named to appear first in the phone book — and took over in the 1960s. Though his sons had assumed control of the business, even in his 80s Caslow came to the plant in Greenport, N.Y., to help instruct drivers and load trucks from 2 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Caslow was the son of Belarusian Jewish immigrants in Brooklyn, N.Y., and helped his father sell fish from local smokehouses in Brooklyn. “Up until the day before he died, he was still having smoked fish as part of his lunch,” his son Robert told the New York Times.
“For my dad’s shiva, we had smoked fish. He would have been happy with it.” — jta