Page 13 - The Friday Flyer ● JULY 27, 2018

JULY 27, 2018 THE FRIDAY FLYER A-13
How Canyon Lake street names were chosen

Have you ever wondered how Can-
yon Lake streets were named or what
they mean? Names like Canyon Lake CANYON LAKE HISTORY
Drive North, Boating Way, Cove View,
Big Tee, Hiding Bass and Wood Duck
make sense, but what about some of the
other names?
Does Canyon Lake have its own Loch
Ness monster? Did Wooly Mammoths
once roam the plains and hillsides of
what is now Riverside County? Was the
T.V. series Bonanza filmed in Canyon
Lake? Did the great Crusades really take
place in Canyon Lake? Is there really
buried treasure on Treasure Island?
What about the meaning of some of
the street names? What do names like
Caliente, Cinnamon Teal, Greenbriar,
Sloop, Widgeon and Lupin mean? A
quick Google search and it is easy to
find that Caliente is the Spanish word
for very hot and Cinnamon Teal is a
type of duck. When you look up Green-
briar it is either a resort in the Allegheny
Mountains or spelled Greenbrier it is a
vine in the lily family of plants. Sloop
is a one-masted sailboat and Widgeon is PHOTO PROVIDED BY ELINORE MARTIN
a type of common freshwater duck. Did
you know a Lupin is a plant from the
pea family that is toxic if not prepared PHOTO BY JILL TORKELSON
properly?
So where did the street names come The tall sign was built to direct visitors to different sites within
from and who decided which streets the newly development Canyon Lake community. It stood near
would be named what? According to the corner of Village Way Drive and the main causeway. Canyon Lake street signs as they look today.
Gordon Heath, former president of Co- were to be no political people, govern- easy, such things as boating, water, lake I did the normal thing of picking the
rona Land Company and developer of
Canyon Lake, “They were picked from ment or controversial names,” Gordon equestrian, wildlife and waterfowl.” names I liked. All this was done without
a list I requested from an associate, said. Gordon believed names were impor- computers, emails, committees or any
Jack Frost, to prepare.” Yes, there re- Gordon’s vision for Canyon Lake tant because, “Once given, they usually real fanfare.”
ally was a Jack Frost and he wasn’t the was, “A community where residents remain forever, so they should stand the There you have it, Canyon Lake street
fictional cartoon character from “Frosty would relax, play and enjoy everything test of time. Most people want to live on names were chosen by one man without
the Snowman.” “I gave him a few limi- about it, including such mundane things a street with a name they like, can pro- the Internet, Google or a committee -
tations and preferred categories. There as it’s street names. Categories were nounce and spell. With all this in mind, imagine that!