How much do you know about the history behind Milton’s street names?
Each week, we dive into the stories of our roads. We’re able to do these articles thanks to the tremendous work done by Milton Historical Society President John Challinor. If you weren’t aware, Challinor and the late great historian, Jim Dills, wrote the book on Milton street names, having written Milton Streets back in 2007.
Last week, we covered Maquire Terrace, Raftis Crescent, and Whaley Way. This week, we’re focusing on Earl Crescent and Pearen Avenue.
Starting off with Earl, Challinor says it is named after one of the busiest plumbers Milton has ever seen.
Challinor says Earl was doing all of that work in a town of just 3000 people at the time. He was a committed community member that made Milton a better place. Challinor says that if the ‘Citizen of the Year’ or ‘Lifetime Achievement’ awards were around in his era, Earl would have easily received those honours.
Our second street this week is Pearen Avenue. Challinor says Mr. Pearen was a local journalist who jumped into politics.
As a former-journalist turned politician himself, Challinor says there is an ethical way to go from coverage to professional. He says Pearen had been out of the journalism field for some time before deciding to try to politics, even running a photography store at the time.
If you’re looking to understand how Milton’s streets are named, you should check out the book written by Challinor and Dills. Published by the Milton Historical Society back in 2007, it sold out in about six weeks and has since been long out of print. That said, according to Challinor, you can still find a copy at the Milton Public Library. With nearly 15-years having passed since the initial publication, and the extensive town growth in that time, an updated book is likely to come.
You can also take a walk with the late Jim Dills down Milton’s Main Street in 2002.
If you have a suggestion on what you’d like to learn about next week, let us know! We’re currently working on names that we find interesting. You can message our Facebook page, Twitter account, Instagram page, or even email us at News1013@LocalRadio.ca. Otherwise, we’ll just continue asking about local street names that we find interesting.
Hey, things are changing for us here at MiltonNow.ca! If you have a news tip or story idea, you can now send us a heads up via email at News1013@LocalRadio.ca. If you’d like to get ahold of me personally, shoot me a message at Cameron.Wilkinson@LocalRadio.ca. We’re in the business of content creation, so no idea is a bad idea.
