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THE NAME GAME! ¥ TCASHR = qq Port Perry proudly honours many early pioneers... but are their names correct? What’s in the spelling of a name? That was one question members of Scugog council pondered last month, following the tragic death of three residents in the family’s Crandell St. home. Following the deadly fire in February, it was brought to council's attention that Cran- dell St. had been misspelled in a number of police and national media reports. Variations to the 175 year old family name were reported to have ranged from Crandall, Crandell, Crandel and even Crandle. Asearch of census reports, the land regis- try office and vintage maps, show the name most often spelled ‘Crandall’ or ‘Crandell.’ The name Crandell, found on street signs today, originated from Reuben Crandell, the first white man to settle in Reach Township. Early family records show the family name was spelled ‘Crandall’ when Reuben was born in Saratoga, New York state in 1797. As ayoung man Reuben moved to Canada from the U.S.A, and in 1821 settled in Reach Township. By the time he arrived here he was spelling his name “Crandell.” Reuben and his wife Catherine raised six children near Manchester and they were all registered with the last name “Crandell.” Many family members lived their entire life in Port Perry using the surname “Crandell,” focus@observerpub.ca and in death they were buried with “Crandell” on their headstones. Although some early maps, and land registry records show the family name spelled with an “a”, the most accepted spelling over the Past 150 years has been “Cran- ke Crandell name is not the only name on a street sign which is questionable. At least two others in the town centre have questionable historical errors. The most obvious of these is Casimir St. This street was named more than 125 years ago to honour Sir Casi- mir Gzowski, the noted railway engineer who was instrumental in bringing the railway to Port Perry in 1872. But —Casimir’s name can be found with two distinct spellings along one short block. At the intersection of Sim- coe St, Casimir it is spelled correctly, but on the opposite corner, intersecting i with John St, Mr. Gzowski’s name is incor- rectly spelled Casmir. Just north of Queen St. we find McDonald St., and while the signs identifying this street are consistently spelled McDonald, there’s a distinct possibility they are all wrong. Amap of Port Perry dat- ed 1877 shows this street as being be spelled “Mac- Donald”. The street is reported to have been named about 1866 in honour of Sir John A. MacDonald, who went on to become Canada’s first Prime Minister. But again there is conflicting evidence re- garding the spelling. Two earlier maps of the village of Port Perry, dated 1851 and 1854 show the street labled as McDonald. To be sure, Sir Casimir Gzowski, and Sir John A. MacDonald would be proud to have their names immortalized in Port Perry, but if we are to honour them, they deserve to have their names spelled correctly. It’s the honourable thing to do! Sir John A. MacDonald By J. Peter Hvidsten Bill Minors The Da Vinci Code Finally available in paperback! Focus On Scugog 11