L. Berson & Fils.

I read recently, with some sadness, of the closing, or moving of an establishment, that seems to me at least, to be as old as Montreal itself.

In a recent Gazette column, I read of the relocation of L. Berson & Fils off of the Main. To those from out of town, the Main is the name given by locals to Rue St Lauren, or St Lawrence Street (of all the names the street has, that last one is never used).

As the article states, the business was established on the Main in 1922, and it was indeed a landmark. I remember seeing it on my first visit to the city, and at the time, I did find it a bit of an eyesore, if at least one that clearly had history, it was what looked like a builder's yard in the middle of a busy main shopping street, but the sign hanging above it made it obvious it was just part of the fittings and fixtures of the town, and that it hearkened back to an earlier era.

It was this obvious recalling to an earlier age that meant when I came to running CoC here, and the investigators visited Montreal, the look and locale of the place became a direct inspiration on the company "Guerard et Fils", a warehouse an yard in town for a house moving and clearing company, who the Investigators came in contact with whilst searching for some artifacts, or books.

This was the second time they had visited the town, the first time being to run through the Horror's Heart scenario. Obviously, when they came back, things had changed, and much of it was to do with the fallout of their actions on their first visit. One of the cultists they had 'taken care of' on the previous visit had a library full of useful artifacts and books. However, they were not aware of this the first time round. When they came back, and had to track the items down, they found the house had been cleared by the aforementioned firm.

This led to an eventual visit to the yard, which in my minds eye was Berson & Fils, and I described it as such. If I had another game in town, I would endeavour to use these house clearers again, as I thought it was such a great way to let the investigators rummage around in old stuff. You never know what they'll find, even if it's not what they thought they were looking for!