FM 101 Milton is continuing to dive into the history of local street names.
Each week, we speak with Milton Historical Society President John Challinor to gather information and details about the namesakes of our roads. If you weren’t aware, Challinor and the late great historian, Jim Dills, wrote the book on Milton street names, writing Milton Streets back in 2007.
Recently, we covered Field Drive and Norrington Place. This week, we’re focusing on Jelinek Terrace and Wettlaufer Terrace.
Challinor says Jelinek Terrace is named after a very successful former MP for the Milton area.
Otto Jelinek and his family fled from Czechoslovakia in 1948. They went to Switzerland before arriving in Canada. Him and his sister Maria became very successful figure skaters. They finished fourth in 1960 Winter Olympics before winning the 1962 World Championships, which, as Challinor notes, took place in their previous home country.
Jelinek became a successful businessman before his turn in politics, where he served as the Minister of Fitness and Amateur Sport, Multiculturalism, Supply and Services, and National Revenue.
In 2013, he was appointed as ambassador of Canada to the Czech Republic.
Our second street name is Wettlaufer Terrace. Challinor says the street is named after a somewhat forgotten local soldier.
Many soldiers moved following both World Wars, and Challinor suspects that may be the case for Wettlaufer as there is much local recorded information on his life.
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.
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