Only in Milton would we have streets named after both a professional fisherman and a professional wrestler.
FM 101 Milton is continuing our weekly feature of diving deep into the history Milton street names. Each week, we interview President of the Milton Historical Society, John Challinor II, about the people behind the names of the streets we all live on. 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.
We’re covering three streets this week: Walkers Line, Izumi Gate, and McMullen Crescent. Last week, we focused on Childs Drive, Tonelli Lane, and Whitlock Avenue.
Starting off with Walkers Line, Challinor says it was named after a local family from the early 1800s.
Audio PlayerHe adds that the Walker family were a big part of the early stages of the agricultural sector in Milton.
The listener who suggested Walkers Line was curious about the supposed buffalo sanctuary that existed in the area. Challinor had to double-back and do some quick research. Here’s what he sent across in a follow-up email:
“A buffalo compound was built by Conservation Halton at the Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area in 1965. The herd was established in 1967 and was based there until 1994, when it was moved to Mountsberg Conservation Area. There are no longer any buffalo roaming Mountsberg. In recognition of the former compound, today there is a hiking trail at Rattlesnake called Buffalo Compound, a 4.5 kilometre loop that connects with the Bruce Trail.”
While the early 1800’s saw a lot of Americans migrate north of the border as British Crown Loyalists, Challinor says there is no record of the Walker family falling under this label, despite their commute from North Carolina at the time.
Another street that we’re looking at this week is Izumi Gate, found in the Ford Neighbourhood. Many may know the name from a popular fishing television program.
Audio PlayerChallinor says Izumi is a Milton resident who was inducted into the Milton Walk of Fame. (In a “what a small world” radio moment, the narrator for ‘Bob Izumi’s Real Fishing Show’ was my broadcasting professor at Conestoga College, so I had a chuckle about that.)
Our final street name this week is McMullen Crescent, named after Peter “Hard Rock” McMullen. Challinor says that McMullen was Milton’s original professional wrestler back in the 1940’s and 50’s.
Audio PlayerMcMullen really just missed a boom period for the territory days of professional wrestling at the time. It was in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s that the newly named World Wide Wrestling Federation began its dominant run in the northeast of the United States, primarily New York and New Jersey. It soon became a televised product and made stars out of professional wrestlers.
Challinor says that while current Milton residents, Tiger Jeet Singh and Tiger Jeet Singh Jr., have likely inspired more Miltonians to become wrestlers compared to Peter McMullen, it’s McMullen’s work in hockey and baseball that truly created his lasting legacy in local sports – and a big part as to why he was added to Milton’s Walk of Fame as well.
If you’re looking to understand how Milton’s streets were 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.
Two of our streets this week were suggested by the Milton Sports Hall of Fame on our Instagram page. 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, as well as suggested names. 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 interest us.
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.
