Place Names with Our Names

Have you ever strolled down Treanor Boulevard, sipped a Guinness at a bar in Traynor Square or been hit by a tram on Trainor Avenue?  All over the world there are towns, streets, parks – & yes, even a lagoon – named after our illustrious forebears.  We are hoping to gather  information on as many of these places as possible (not businesses) detailing their location, a little information about the Tr’n’r for whom they were named and with, hopefully, a photo or two. Might you be a descendent of the namesake of your place? Just drop a comment below or email our project lead, Leigh Blaskiewicz. We love input!

TRAINOR LAKE
Saskatchewan
Canada
Latitude:59.90°N
Longitude:109.2833°W
James Bruce Trainor
1906-1944

L36713 Trooper, British Columbia Dragoons, (James) Bruce Trainor of Loon Lake was killed in action 31st August 1944 and is buried at Montecchio war cemetery, Montelabbate, Pesaro, Italy. Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Bruce was the son of Irvine and Edna Merle Trainor of St Walburg. He ad a farm in the Winding Creek district but was trapping and drilling wells at Loon Lake when he enlisted in 1940 in the 16/22 Saskatchewan Horse at Camp Dundurn.

A fishing lake, Trainor Lake was so named as part of the GeoMemorial Commemorative Naming Program run by the Saskatchewan Government, honouring fallen servicemen such as Bruce.
Trainor

Pictures

Location

TRAYNER / TRAYNOR

Saskatchewan, Canada
Latitude : 52.1400° N
Longitude : 108.2302° W

There are two conflicting versions as to the founding of Trayner in the first years of the 20th century. According to “People Places” by Bill Barry, it was named after a Scottish judge that visited in 1905. There was indeed a very eminent Scottish judge – Lord John Trayner – who did visit the area around that time whilst researching potential properties for his son, so the theory cannot completely be discounted. Alternatively, Hilda Shaw of the Landis Historical Society writes “Very little is known about the early days of Traynor. Settlers were already here before the railway came through….In 1908 the rails were laid…..and the siding and platforms were finished…..An official of the railway is supposed to have named the town.” Whichever version is correct, both Bill Barry and E T Russell (in his book “What’s in a Name”) agree that the Trayner in question returned later to find that the name had been misspelled as TraynOR. Whilst he managed to ensure the correction of the name on the Station House, other examples escaped attention and the town remained to its residents, and on current maps, as TraynOR.

In 1959 the passenger train made its last run through Traynor and with it the regular mail service stopped. The school closed in the same year, 50 years after being founded, with the children being bussed to nearby Landis. By the 1980’s only four families still lived in Traynor and nothing now remains where the town once stood. As Hilda Shaw poignantly wrote “it stood the pioneer days, the depression, the dirty thirties, but it could not stand progress”.

Grain elevators showing the original spelling of Trayner (courtesy of Landis Hist Soc)	Buglass family arriving from Newcastle, England, 1913 – spelling Traynor (courtesy of Fred Buglas

TRAINOR STREET, (JOHN R) TRAINOR PARK,
JOHN R TRAINOR MEMORIAL BRIDGE

Red Bluff, California, USA
Latitude : 40.1546°N
Longitude : 122.2428°W
John Rhoads “Jack” Trainor
1921-1968

This story describes the business aspects of the Trump/Musk coup.  It begins with a recap of Putin’s takeover of Russia’s oligarchy.  He made a simple deal: they can keep the money they amassed if they complied with his political goals.  Most did, but those who did not went to prison or fell out a window.  In a meeting last year at Mar-a-Lago Trump offered a similar deal, and Zuckerberg displayed the about-face we have seen among the obscenely rich in our country.  Musk was also seen as a route to political favor and after the election other businesses fell in line:  Stanley Black & Decker, Visa, JPMorganChase.  Papers reported the continuing scramble for Trump’s favor, with a do-it-now-or-you-are-done sense.  This was outside the world of normal lobbying.

In this light we can see the goal of many of Trump’s decisions.  Tariffs, while their full imposition has faltered, have been established as a looming threat.  They never made sense in any other light.  The exceptions he allows to the tariffs become another lever to control businesses, as they did in Trump’s first term.  Inspectors general played a role in curbing that last term, but Trump has fixed that impediment this term by firing all of them. 

The article follows by describing other contradictions to a free-market system and the illusion of his inheriting a growing economy last term.  The article has many links to supporting evidence and, of course, to several related articles.  It will be printed in an upcoming issue, but I believe the understanding it brings cannot wait. Born in Sacramento in 1921, John served as a B29 pilot in WWII. In 1950 he moved to Red Bluff CA & led a life of service until his untimely death in a helicopter crash in 1968. At that time he was starting his 5th term as Mayor of Red Bluff & his 13th year on Red Bluff City Council & it was in that capacity that he was flying back from attending an institute in Los Angeles when the helicopter “seemed to come apart in the air” with the loss of all 23 passengers & crew. He was Director of the League of California Cities; member of Elks Lodge 1250, Rotary Club & Knights of Columbus; former Disaster Chairman for the American Red Cross; & Chairman of the Highway 36 Association. He also owned the Red Bluff Tallow Company & worked actively with cattle ranchers in the area. John was survived by his three siblings – Alfred, Rosemary & Charles. His parents – Alfred & Maude – had both died within 18 months of his being drafted in February 1942. In 1969 the John R Trainor Memorial Bridge was built at the south fork of Cottonwood Creek, Tehama Co & in 2013 plans were drawn up for the John R Trainor Park on Trainor Street, featuring two softball fields, playground & picnic areas.

Oak Hill Cemetery, Red Bluff	cityofredbluff.org

TRAYNOR’S LAGOON

Victoria, Australia
Latitude : 36.5712°S
Longitude : 142.9832°E
Thomas Traynor c1820-c1851

According to descendants, Thomas was born to Thomas Snr and Catherine Redden in Dublin c1820. In 1842 in Melbourne he married Margaret Bollard, originally from Ireland & they had five children – Susan, Isabella, Thomas, Joseph & John. Margaret remarried in 1852 & had at least five more children but to date no records have been found to confirm Thomas’ death. In 1851 there was a notice in the Melbourne Daily News advising of uncollected mail but whether due to his death or desertion is unconfirmed.

Although at one point a boarding house keeper, Thomas was primarily a drover, or shepherd, who during the course of his work often camped by the lagoon which at that time extended to about 75 acres, averaging 4ft in depth. It became known as Traynors Lagoon Swamp (up until then probably called the Avon Plains) but it was not until the late 1860’s, as the community grew, that the name Traynors Lagoon was truly established. An extract from “Traynors Lagoon & Gre Gre North Districts”, St Arnaud Historical Society, states: “It was a place of quiet beauty, being well known for its multitude of bird life, particularly ducks and swans, and was visited by the children on bird days organised by the local teacher. As well, it was a popular swimming spot for the local children despite the distinct disadvantages of deep mud and leeches.” In the 1970’s photographs show that it was still being used as a boating lake but today no body of water remains.

Satellite view	Traynors Lagoon, 2018. Camstrike Phtography

WHERE IN THE WORLD….?

If you are able to contribute a place to our new Treinfhir place name project, even if it is just the location of a street sign you have seen in passing, please complete the following & hit Submit.