The names we put on streets should have some meaning or relevance to them. 

We travel down streets everyday and don’t think too much about their names. But many names, if not most street names, are not randomly selected. Rather have some kind of history or thought behind them.

For instance, the famous Yonge Street in Toronto was named after Sir George Yonge. He was a friend of the namer and an expert on ancient Roman roads. 

Street names are not randomly picked out of a hat.

Some of the names we find on street signs come from those who built the homes or buildings on that street. 

Back in the late 70’s, my folks went on a trip to England and, while they were there, had their picture taken on Silcock Street. Apparently I had a great grandfather who built homes and had a street named after him. 

Street names mean something. Without a street name we are left with just numbers which are quite boring.

After growing up in Toronto with its’ interesting street names, I moved to Edmonton where they don’t use street names for the majority of their streets. 

One of the first things I did when I arrived was to go into a book store to purchase a map. I quickly found out that in Edmonton you don’t really need a map. All the streets and avenues are numbers based on where the street is in conjunction to the center of the city.

It was easy to get anywhere, but not that interesting living at 7313 – 183b Street. 

Street names have some spice. There is meaning and a story behind the names. 

That is what I thought until I was driving in the small city of Cobourg, east of Toronto. 

We turned down one street and came to T-intersection where we had to turn right or left. The street name was University Avenue. 

We have a University Avenue in Kingston and, as you would think, it leads to Queen’s University campus. Likewise, Toronto has a University Avenue and it leads to the main campus of the University of Toronto.

But Cobourg, there is no university in Cobourg. Why in the world would they have a street named University Avenue? 

I thought maybe the town fathers named the street with hopes that one day there would be a university at the end of it. I wondered if maybe they liked the name, thought it sounded impressive and hoped it might attract people to come and move to Cobourg. 

Naming a street without having a reason or a story – that is laughable. 

But then I did some research and found out Cobourg did have a university. Victoria University was founded in 1836, but was relocated to Toronto in 1890 as a College of the University of Toronto. 

So there was a reason for the street name. It wasn’t a scheme of the forefathers of Cobourg to attract new residents to their city. 

I just think that in the last 132 years since the university left that maybe they might have thought of renaming the street.

Here’s the thing: People who believe in Jesus Christ are called Christians. What “Christian” means is someone who follows Jesus. So if you are a Christian, be sure that if someone followed you they would be able to find Christ. Otherwise you shouldn’t be called by that name.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What needs to be reevaluated in your life right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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