Photo: Town of Milton
It’s Street Name Monday!
On a weekly basis, we speak with local historian 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. Challinor also served seven years as the President of the Milton Historical Society.
Recently, we focused on Riddell Crescent and Stark Circle. This week, we’re covering Swann Crescent and Toletzka Landing.
Starting alphabetically with Swann, Challinor says the namesake was a well known local volunteer, who residents might also remember his adopted role as a modern town crier.
Swann was named Milton’s Citizen of the Year in 1978.
He was also heavily involved with the Ontario Plowmen’s Association, helping organize their big annual event every year.
Our other street this week is Toletzka Landing. Challinor says the namesake was a major local entrepreneur who ran the go-to spot in town for many decades in the 1900s.
He was also involved with the local baseball scene, having played in his younger years and served as an executive in his later years.
On top of running his business, Toletzka was also a volunteer firefighter – helping protect the community for several years.
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.
