We have two streets named after former Milton Councillors!
Each week, 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 covered Kelly Gate and Laidlaw Drive. This week, we’re focusing on Lamont Crescent and Laughren Crescent.
Starting alphabetically with Lamont, Challinor says that not only was the namesake a local councillor, but they were also a firefighter and worked in publishing!
Working in publishing in the time that he did, Challinor says Lamont was fairly high-profile and well-known at the time. The two would have been ‘two ships passing in the night’ in terms of their service on Council, but Challinor recalls Lamont as a good person who worked hard.
Our other street this week is Laughren Crescent, which Challinor admits isn’t quite pronounced how it looks. The namesake was a former optometrist-turned-Milton Councillor.
Martin Street Optometry is still in business under new(ish) ownership. You can find it at 87 Martin Street in Milton.
Laughren is still involved in the community after selling his optometrist business. Challinor has nothing but good things to say about him, calling him a proud family man.
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.
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.
