Pollution killed the beaches in Laval around 1950, but prior to that the sandy riverside once beckoned so many tourists there that it led to a race riot on July 24, 1943.
The beaches were a massive draw for Jewish Montrealers, many of whom called it Plage Beach, which translates redundantly to Beach Beach.
The non-francophone presence didn't sit too well with some locals drawn in by racist ideologies.
On that Saturday Moe Herscovitch, long known as a celebrity athlete to local Jews, was sitting in the Kosy Korner Restaurant with about 200 other customers.
He was enjoying soft drink with his wife and Dr. and Mrs. Harry Sinclair when he was punched and kicked for no reason.
Herscovitch, who stood a slight 5'6" was a Romanian-born boxer who displayed great proficiency in every sport he undertook from rugby to football to boxing. He was even an Olympic athlete, boxing in Antwerp in 1920. He was also a WWI veteran.
But on this day he was just a 40-something man kicking back beach-style at the spot where a similar melee had taken place one week earlier between Jews and French Canadians.
Between 50 to 75 people got caught up in the brawl but Hescovitch was the only one seriously injured.
Laval police attempted to investigate but not too intensely, as it turned out that the person who organized the racist attack was 23-year-old Rene Bolduc, whose father L. Bolduc happened to be police chief for Laval.
Another attacker named Andre Bigras, 18, was eventually arrested and charged but Bolduc was nowhere to be found for some time after.
The incident sparked probes and editorials and letters to the editor. Jewish homeowners in the area reported that they feared for their lives.
Police presence was raised but usual weekend beach crowds of about 5,000 dwindled to around 1,000 following the incident.
The attacker Bolduc was later rounded up and revealed to have dodged the WWII draft and given a pair of days in jail.
Herscovitch, in an unrelated but thoroughly weird story, had a brother-in-law whose beat amnesia after he had a vague memory of being related to a boxer named Zarconovitch.
Herscovitch died in 1969.
During the 1930s Plage Laval was a village with only about 300 residents but about 5,000 more would vacation there. When it joined Laval West in 1950 the Plage Laval district had 731 French families, 494 English, 236 Jewish and 66 from other origins.
Bathing on Laval beaches ended in the 1950s largely due to the industrial waste that was poured into the waters. The waters are slightly less polluted now.
The beaches were a massive draw for Jewish Montrealers, many of whom called it Plage Beach, which translates redundantly to Beach Beach.
On that Saturday Moe Herscovitch, long known as a celebrity athlete to local Jews, was sitting in the Kosy Korner Restaurant with about 200 other customers.
He was enjoying soft drink with his wife and Dr. and Mrs. Harry Sinclair when he was punched and kicked for no reason.
Herscovitch, who stood a slight 5'6" was a Romanian-born boxer who displayed great proficiency in every sport he undertook from rugby to football to boxing. He was even an Olympic athlete, boxing in Antwerp in 1920. He was also a WWI veteran.
But on this day he was just a 40-something man kicking back beach-style at the spot where a similar melee had taken place one week earlier between Jews and French Canadians.
Between 50 to 75 people got caught up in the brawl but Hescovitch was the only one seriously injured.
Laval police attempted to investigate but not too intensely, as it turned out that the person who organized the racist attack was 23-year-old Rene Bolduc, whose father L. Bolduc happened to be police chief for Laval.
Another attacker named Andre Bigras, 18, was eventually arrested and charged but Bolduc was nowhere to be found for some time after.
The incident sparked probes and editorials and letters to the editor. Jewish homeowners in the area reported that they feared for their lives.
Police presence was raised but usual weekend beach crowds of about 5,000 dwindled to around 1,000 following the incident.
The attacker Bolduc was later rounded up and revealed to have dodged the WWII draft and given a pair of days in jail.
Herscovitch, in an unrelated but thoroughly weird story, had a brother-in-law whose beat amnesia after he had a vague memory of being related to a boxer named Zarconovitch.
Herscovitch died in 1969.
During the 1930s Plage Laval was a village with only about 300 residents but about 5,000 more would vacation there. When it joined Laval West in 1950 the Plage Laval district had 731 French families, 494 English, 236 Jewish and 66 from other origins.
Bathing on Laval beaches ended in the 1950s largely due to the industrial waste that was poured into the waters. The waters are slightly less polluted now.
Laval's toilets still pour into the Riviere des Prairies despite the riverside's residents' apparent obliviousness or apathy toward the fact. Why isn't Laval required to clean up its act by building a disposal plant like the one in RDP?
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