People love a funny name, and if you can get some new signage for your own home, why not? An Ontario, Canada, township is struggling to figure out how to change the name of Harry Dick Road due to the frequent thefts of the signs.
John Henry “Harry” Dick was born on his rural property in the Township of Bonnechere Valley in 1957. Since then, the family has occupied the three homes on the approximately 1,600-foot road for five generations, making them a historic part of the community.
The road they lived on was changed to Harry Dick Road in the late 1980s or early 1990s when 911 emergency service was first added to the area. “Nobody asked us what to name the road, it was just named,” Dick’s wife, Lois, said. “And so Harry Dick Road. Well, people think that’s very, very funny, and the signs started to disappear.”
Township officials confirmed the sign with the name of the road is stolen around four times a year, an expensive replacement that only keeps adding up. To prevent more thefts, officials have tried everything from greasing the pole to adding concrete to its base but the signs continued to disappear one way or another.
The Dick family also installed a security camera to try to catch thieves in the act but it too ended up being stolen alongside the sign. To put matters to rest, a proposition to change the name of the road won support from Mayor Jennifer Murphy but the Dick family said it would leave them with a new problem.
“I thought of all the things that we’re going to have to change, any legal document with our address on it is going to have to be changed,” Lois Dick said.
Murphy acknowledged the difficulty the name change would cause the family and said that the plans to change the road name would be put on hold while officials attempt to find a better solution.
Harry Dick said that his preferred solution would be for the thefts to stop altogether. Whether that happens remains to be seen. “All I want is some peace and quietness,” he said.
Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/harry-dick-road-name-sign-change-bonnechere-1.6981502