We have a street connected to the famous Blue Man Group, and another connected to a World War II bomber!
Each week, we speak with Milton Historical Society (MHS) 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 Malboeuf Court and Raspberry Terrace. This week, we’re looking at Banks Crescent and Etheridge Avenue.
Starting alphabetically with Banks, Challinor says the street has a rather ‘Blue’ history.
He adds that Banks was added to the Milton Walk of Fame in 2007 as part of the inaugural class.
While his family still lives in the area, it’s believed that Banks resides in the US to continue his work in the entertainment industry.
Our other street this week is Etheridge Avenue. Challinor says the namesake helped restore an important piece of World War II technology.
He also refurbished Air Canada’s original 1937 Lockheed 10A, CF‐TCC, for the airline’s 50th anniversary.
Etheridge was inducted into the Canadian Aircraft Maintenance Engineers Hall of Fame in 2012 for his work on refurbishing the Avro Lancaster.
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.