What's In A Name

A street name, that is. No, this is not Romeo and Juliet.

Have you ever wondered who picks the names that appear on our streets? Names like Ranee and Rajah streets which intersect in the Bathurst, Lawrence area, a fairly Jewish neighbourhood. Or Terry Fox Way and Silken Laumann Way which grace the roads of Mississauga. Believe it or not, it is a committee of people made up of residents, town and region staff and emergency services. At least in the Region of Peel this is the case.

There are four criteria for choosing a name. The most important being that necessary services must be able to fully understand the street name 98% of the time in the event of a crisis. That is, the 911 operator, the dispatcher, and other essential services must be able to identify the name quickly. So making sure the pronunciation, and spelling is fairly simple, and does not sound similar to another street in the area or is duplicated are other criteria to naming a street.

While I find no problem with the criteria, I wonder how easy it is for folks who live on Trethewey Drive in the Black Creek area to spell their address.  Wellesley Street in downtown is easy if you live in the area but is a bit of a tongue twister with all those ‘l’s, not to mention the pronunciation. Some say Well-es-ley, while others say Wells-ly. Go figure.

But then again that is Toronto. Recently at a council meeting in Caledon, which is just forty-five minutes from downtown Toronto, in the GTA, one council member complained to the Mayor about the new street names in the developments going up in his ward. The unsympathetic mayor suggested he submit his own names to the committee. “It’s a simple system councillor, fill out the forms and make your own suggestions then,” said Mayor Marolyn Morrison, the Caledon Enterprise reported.

Apparently it is as simple as that. At least in the Region of Peel. Simply go to the website, fill out the form and submit it to the Region of Peel and it goes to a street naming committee. Bear in mind that they will not take names that are endorsing or putting down, someone, something, or being political, slanderous, etc. According the the committee chair, Ken Chartrand, they have ‘turned down some priceless ones; Desert Storm, Press Brick, Albert Callahan, Elephant...’ to name a few.

So short of having your name in neon lights, you may have it on street signs if it gets picked by the committee. Of course, it means submitting your choice of names and getting picked. Otherwise, you may just have to be content with looking at these wacky names (be forewarned, some of these names are profanity in English) from around the world in the virtual world, unless of course you go visit the place. 

The Town Crier

I remember as a prepubescent fish out of water who had just left her life on a rural rice farm to go live in the burbs so I can attend high school; hearing the village crier's bell and his announcements of either a death or upcoming event, mostly death announcements, for the first time in my life. 

This was in the seventies in a little village in Guyana about thirteen miles from Georgetown, but even then it was a dying practice. I have lived in Canada for twenty seven years and never heard of a Town Crier until the other day but more about that later. 

He was a curious sight. A humble little Indian man, dressed in his dhoti and carrying a bell in his hand, he was sometimes heckled by the local kids but he, ignoring the hecklers would continue to carry out his duty faithfully. 

Many times by the time he arrived to our area, he'd be hoarse. Sometimes folks would ask him to repeat what he said and he'd repeat his important message hoarse as he was, to the best of his ability. He won my respect and admiration this quiet humble little man. In my young mind I thought it was a humiliating job though an important job. To this day when I think of a village crier/bell man, I think of Leah-leah, the village crier.

The Regional reported that the Town of Caledon has just hired a new Town Crier. Andrew Welch is the town's first official Crier since its incorporation in 1974. With an annual budget of $750 for appearances, Andrew will be invited to three to five events per year. He has done unofficial appearances in the past but now he will be able to represent his town and compete in competitions across the country. Although the role of Town Crier is more of a ceremonial matter these days, there can be a lot of activities to keep a Crier busy.

Back in Medieval England town criers held the prestigious positions your local newspaper holds today (before the advent of television and the internet of course). They were the chief means of transmitting news to the town’s people as most were illiterate, but their proclamations were not of just the news. They made Royal proclamations, announced new bylaws, local events, even advertisements, death announcements and other relevant proclamations. The town crier was a paid official of the ruling monarchy and had full legal protection. 

The Chester Chronicle of 9th August 1793 records a cry from the Cheshire town of Northwich: 'A town-crier of Northwich (one of the fair-sex, who has filled that office audibly and laudably more than 20 years) lately proclaim'd as follows:- "This is to gi' notice that there's two pigs lost an hooaver brings um to me shall be well rewarded for ther truble, so God save the King an' the Lord of our Manner - ton's a red on, and t' other's a black on."' 

The term "Posting A Notice" comes from the act of the town crier, who having read his message to the townspeople, would attach it to the door post of the local inn. Some newspapers took the name "The Post" for this reason. 

Town criers were protected by law, as they sometimes brought bad news such as tax increases. Anything done by the town crier was done in the name of the ruling monarch and harming a town crier was considered to be treason. The phrase "don't shoot the messenger" was a real command.