Quote:
Originally Posted by cdnguys
Apparently named murder hill because it was murder on car engines back in the time of Model T’s
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Whatever they do in naming things, I think the above should be celebrated and remembered. The city is one of the most historic in Canada and I certainly hope they don't rename everything to erase this.
As for Murder Hill, if this is a true story then this is something we should have on a plaque somewhere. Imagine walking around the city and seeing plaques like this describing where local names came from and why. I love the idea that it was called Murder Hill because Model T's couldn't make it up it. That is a piece of our history we should preserve and I'm sure locals and visitors would find those stories to be fascinating!
That being said, even some of the more insensitive names should be remembered and explained. For example, we view Indian Town as being insensitive today, but that wasn't the case 200+ years ago. So while we should correct this, we should also have a plaque explaining what it was originally called, what the original settlers would have believed in naming it that, and why it was changed today. I'm sure there is a story there we should remember while also recognizing the need to change it. Not explaining the full history doesn't teach people why things were changed and the importance of history being an ever-evolving story of different people and cultural norms. What we feel is acceptable today will likely be different 200 years from now.
So, I hope this "commission" isn't going to simply white-wash the city with a bunch of new names and erase the city's history for what they think is cool or less insensitive without preserving the history and context. Otherwise it isn't of much value.
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