One of the saddest and most telling things that’s not mentioned in this Leader-Post story is that the reporter, editor, and/or publisher won’t report on something as obvious and invisible as the air we breathe. The incestuous group of property developers and real estate agents know that they can’t sell a house in suburban Regina to white residents if the street or subdivision has an aboriginal name. And they regard the city as their private plaything, which means that they can give strange names to their subdivisions, often as not with no connection to the community or one of their buddies in the property development business (I can only assume that Jim Carins Avenue in the Grasslands development is named after somebody that had something to do with Carins Homes, for example).
But when you go through the list on the street name catalogue, there are some howlers. What we should do is ask everybody to take a letter on the list. I’ll start with A.
* A street named after David Ahenakew? Really?
* Roger Aldag was a pretty good offensive lineman for the Roughriders. But has he done enough for Regina outside of football to warrant having a street named after him? Probably not. Then again there’s also a street named after one of his predecessors on the offensive line, Ron Atchison.
* A street named after Dr. J.T.M. Anderson? A first-class bigot? Who hated the idea of ethnic minorities (Ukrainians, Poles, etc.) living in Saskatchewan? Good gravy …
* Argyle Street is a typo, since it was named for the ninth Duke of Argyll, Canada’s Governor General in the late 1870s. I now feel better about my additions to the Prairie Dog Type-O-Wiener Contest.
* The only connection to Regina for whatever they named Arlington Street after was a hotel that ran in the city in the 1950s. The property developers pulled the name right out of thin air. I look forward to someday driving on Jolly Roger Boulevard.
* Ascot Road is (probably) named after the British community famous for the Ascot Derby. This is what happens when you don’t have horse racing in your own community.
* Asgar Walk. I think Thor used to live there, but he moved.