Our seasonal trend of natural local street namesakes continues this week.
On a weekly basis, 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 Basswood Crescent and Violet Gate. This week, we’re focusing on Bearberry Place and Twinflower Place.
Starting alphabetically with Bearberry, Challinor says residents might have seen this particular plant while hiking through our many conservation areas.
He adds that bearberries are commonly used in herbal medicines with tea for aches and pains.
It’s noted that, yes, bears like to eat bearberries.
Our other street name this week is Twinflower Place. Challinor says this is one (two?) unique looking flower(s).
He notes that what’s notable about the twinflower, aside from how it looks, is how people react to it. It’s not used in herbal medicine; it’s not used in recipes; and, it’s not really used as a decoration. It’s kind of just left alone, which is not something you typically see in the world of flora.
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.
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 X account or 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.
