A nice juxtaposition between local street namesakes!
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 Frost Court and Willingdon Crescent. This week, we’re focusing on Chris Hadfield Way and Woodley Crescent.
Starting alphabetically with Chris Hadfield, Challinor touches on the impact made by our resident astronaut.
Hadfield was born in Sarnia, but moved to Milton at a young age. He attended school in the area, and his parents still here as well. He’s three years younger than Challinor, and he remembers Hadfield way back when. He notes that everybody knew that Hadfield was going to do something special, but no one could have guessed space would be the outcome.
While being an accomplished fighter pilot and astronaut is enough to make any child’s dream life come true, Hadfield has also released music (which sparked his international fame) and become a best-selling author. His latest book, The Defector, was released on October 10th, 2023.
Milton has had the benefit for being the home of several well-known residents, namely the longest-serving mayor in Canadian history in Gord Krantz, as well as Stanley Cup winner and NHL legend John Tonelli. That said, it’s hard to argue with the claim that Hadfield is likely the most well-known Miltonian in the town’s history.
In 2018, Hadfield was named to the Milton Walk of Fame, and in 2019, he was the Marshall for the Milton Santa Claus Parade. He’s also been the author for the Milton Public Library’s annual One Book, One Milton event.
Moving from extraterrestrial to terrestrial, Challinor says Woodley Crescent is named after a local farmer with many talents.
Woodley passed away in 2005. Challinor reflects on his time working alongside Woodley, saying he was a very bright and intelligent man who was alarmingly creative. He says that both him and Hadfield showed very similar characteristics in that they were very detailed-oriented personalities with creative tendencies. One became an astronaut, and the other became a key community member with a wide-ranging skillset.
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.
