When I was just 8 years old, my family and I moved to the suburb of Milton. My mother had heard about this little town from her uncle who lived there with his family. He told her that it was great for small families (like ours) and perfect for my dad to make his commute to his relocated job in the GTA. Of course, at that time, 42 years ago, Milton wasn’t really considered part of that title(the GTA) because it was just a small community of almost 30,000 people. Once my mom and dad FINALLY came to Milton and found us a home, they loved it, and couldn’t wait to start living in such a wonderful new place.

Growing up in Milton was simply perfect. Spring and summer time came with excitement for me and my siblings aswe could not wait to get our bikes out and ride around the crescent with friends. Also, visits to our neighbourhood park in Bronte Meadows were so much fun for my mom to take us too as well. Then the beautiful backdrop of the Niagara escarpment felt like pure bliss when autumn would roll around, and there were the nearby apple orchards for my family to go apple picking in the fall.

My mom and dad made friends quickly and they ended up meeting a lot of great people around our street. Neighbours were made to always feel like family at our house and my sister, brother and I made them honorary aunts, uncles, and cousins. To this day, 42 years later, those same people remain as an extension of my family.

Not only did my husband Tom and I have wonderful upbringings here, but we also ended up meeting there too. In front of the same park, I frequented as a child, was where I met him. Then, after dating for some time, he proposed to me , under the moon light in front of one of Milton’s favourite gathering spots in themiddleoftown;theMillPond.Ourweddingwas at the Main Street church that is St. Paul’s United. All of our sweetest memories together, would always include our beloved Milton. When we had our son, we knew that raising him here, was certainly no argument between with either of us. So in 2005, we bought our home on Woodlawn Cres; the SAME street I moved to when I moved there when I was 8! I knew it was the best decision we made for our little family, which then grew by 1 more in 2011 with the arrival of our daughter.

Here are some of the places and memories listed that I will always remember Milton for and that have left the best memories forever for me:

Milton Fair Grounds. Many times during my youth were spent at the Milton Fall Fair; riding all the rides, eating all the sweet treats and then taking in the Derby later on. Plus, the Strawberry fair to fundraise for the hospital and the infamous Steam Era on Labour Day weekend.

St Paul’s United Church. From childhood Sunday school to getting married in 1998; St. Paul’s has been a sweet and lovely community church that is a majestic sight when travelling down Milton’s main street.

Kelso Conservation Area. From hiking, swimming, skiing and even the odd guide camping trip; the Niagara Escarpment and Kelso it one of Milton’s best all season playground.

Original Milton with the inner square roads: Thompson Rd-Derry Rd-Bronte Rd-Steeles and back to Thompson. Everything in this square is the Milton I grew up to know and love. All the shopping we ever needed was inside of this square including the Milton Mall with Zellers, both arenas, the Go Station and Main Street. The Santa Claus parades original route always started on Bronte, went along Main then ultimately finished at the mall. Those memories are one of the best ever around Christmas time for me.

Milton used to be a community that wherever you happen to go for errands, you would always run into someone you knew. You would chat for a while then remember exactly why you went out in the first place. However, stopping to catch your breath with an old friend in the grocery store was just what your soul needed at that moment. Now, being one of Canada’s fastest growing communities, it has grown a little too big to have that small town feel anymore.

Milton has and will be the best little communities and we always love what it gave to us ; our childhood, then dating to raising our 2 children here as well.

Many big community changes in Milton over the years and living through COVID, we then made the hard decision to move. We knew that working from home was an option for Tom, so we were able to move somewhere outside of Milton, and maybe even the province. That’s when we set our sites on New Brunswick, and more specifically, Fredericton. Yes, we left a community that we knew and loved for most of our lives, as well as family and friends too. We wanted an adventure and we sure got one! We now love being Maritimers, and it has allowed us a calmer and more peaceful way of life and we wouldn’t change that for anything! However, Milton, Ontario will always have our hearts and when we always come back to visit, our memories will remain and remind us of how much of a wonderful place it was and had been to live in.