A historical name for Canada, and one of Milton’s many mayors are the focus for our street name segment this week.
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 Gore Court and Snider Terrace. This week, we’re focusing on Cathcart Crescent and Dice Way.
Starting alphabetically with Cathcart, Challinor says the name is from almost 200 years ago.
While Challinor says that Cathcart was referred to as an amateur geologist, he did receive enough recognition be made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. According to their website, “The Royal Society of Edinburgh recognizes, supports and mobilizes expertise from across academia, business and public service for the benefit of Scotland and the wider world.”
As for Dice Way, Challinor says the Milton street was named for one of our mayors who served at the tail-end of the 19th century.
He jokes that most people when they hear ‘Dice Way’ are inclined to think of 80’s comedian Andrew Dice Clay. It’d also make a good street for Elements Casino to be located on, which we can file away on missed opportunities.
Challinor says Dice was the mayor of Milton at a time where the downtown core was converting from wooden structures to brick. At a time where several fires had hampered Main Street, an insurance company was a good transitional career for Dice, and very much needed for local businesses.
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.
