L Berson & Sons has held this prominent spot on the Main since 1922. The monument manufacturer is located just around the corner from the Bagg street Synagogue and the two actually share a founding father.
The business has been passed down for 4 generations, although these days a more accurate sign could read L Berson & fille.
A tombstone shop nestled between a bar and an ice cream parlour is the kind commercial diversity you just won’t find in a new development, no matter how loud the developers toot the mixed-use horn…
9 comments
Wasn’t this also where the language cops tried to push their weight around? And then, after being mocked and ridiculed, they backed off/
I think this was one of the defining moments when folks realised that the Office de protection was nothing more than a paper tiger, and that if you were willing to stand up to them, they would trip over themselves backing off.
Something similar happened back in 1995-1996 when I was working at the Mirror.
That place is amazing, but where is the actual work done? I never seem to see anybody out there chipping away at the granite. Really impressive that they kept it in the family for four generations as well. Kudos to the Bersons!
Ça n’existe pas, «la police de la langue». L’Office de la Langue Française fonctionne avec des plaintes du public.
I cant remember the artist but someone did a neat intervention there in the late 80’s if I recall correctly. Basically all they did was lay some grass down in a section and put a few stones on top. Looked like it was part of the place actually.
they must do the work inside now with laser cutters that engrave in minutes rather than hours of hand-chiseling.
as for the language police, they are very active in the corporate world and definitely do not back off when stood up to. most of the anglo companies i’ve worked for have been harassed into compliance and/or threatened with legal action if they do not comply. often as a result of an anglo telephone/messaging system.
lesson: make sure your telephone system is bilingual.
If I remember correctly, they were hassled because of *Hebrew* on the sign, not English. Their sign is only in French and Hebrew, but the Hebrew letters are dominant. They specialize in Jewish Gravestones, which generally have Hebrew on them….
I don’t recall what exactly happened in that particular case, but there were also similar incidents that year in Chinatown with Chinese characters being displayed too prominently (and no English at all). These incidents were eventually discussed in some UN cultural committee or something, and the OLF eventually backed off going after the non-English language signage.
I have no problem with the promotion of the French language although I do think that it could be more effective with ‘positive reinforcement’ as opposed to negative restrictions. For example, Quebec should offer FREE French training to any Canadian who wants to move here, not only landed immigrants. I do not think that they should be going after small business owners, no matter what language they use! If I want to run my business only in Tadjik or whatever, that is my problem, not the government’s.
If anyone is interested, here is an interesting blog entry about “There is such thing as the Quebec Language Police” http://angryfrenchguy.com/2008/08/05/there-is-no-such-thing-as-the-quebec-language-police/
Here is the sign as it was a number of years ago:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/greynotgrey/77758259/
Don’t know if it is still there.
Zvi- That is how the sign looks today, I live right by. It’s one of the best eye-feasting establishments in this neighborhood.
I love the language police!