Photo: Town of Milton
It’s Street Name Monday!
On a weekly basis, we speak with Milton Historical Society President John Challinor II to gather information and details about the namesakes of our roads. If you weren’t aware, he and the late great historian, Jim Dills, wrote the book on Milton street names, writing Milton Streets back in 2007.
Recently, we focused on Manuel Place and Strohan Place. This week, we’re covering Guild Court and McCann Way.
Starting alphabetically with Guild, Challinor remembers the namesake of this street fondly.
Challinor’s parents were close friends with Guild during his childhood. He recalls one summer in which he spent time at Guild’s cottage up north, driving an old Jaguar. It’s a moment he cherishes, and one that helped inspire his love for old cars.
He notes Guild’s excellent work with the Milton Rotary over the years, making him a beloved community member over the years before his move to Brampton.
Looking online, it appears that Guild passed away in 2008 at the age of 87.
Our second street this week is McCann Way. Challinor says the namesake was a legendary local coach.
Challinor was lucky enough to have been coached by McCann during his formative years. He attributes Milton’s athletic success in the sport, specifically players like John Tonelli and Mike Kaszycki, to the excellent coaching offered at the local level by people like McCann.
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.
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 X account or email us at News1013@LocalRadio.ca. Otherwise, we’ll just continue asking about local street names that we find interesting.
If you have a news tip or story idea, you can now send us a heads up via email at:
- News1013@LocalRadio.ca (Milton)
- News1015@LocalRadio.ca (Orangeville)
- News92@LocalRadio.ca (South Simcoe)
- Rick.Sargent@LocalRadio.ca (Bolton)
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.
