The World's Longest Street

   The distinction of having the longest street in the world belongs to my country. Yonge Street, begins at the waterfront in Toronto, and stretches itself out a total of 1,896 kilometres (1,178 miles), to end at Rainy River in Northern Ontario, at the border with the state of Minnesota. The spelling of the name is a problem for many students, and recent immigrants. As a teacher, I have corrected so many pupils who misspelled it as "Young" Street. It's spelled the way it is because it was named in 1793, in honour of Sir George Yonge, the British war secretary during the late 1780's. He was a personal friend of John Graves SImcoe, the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada (later Ontario). Simcoe was quite the tactician, a true military man. He led the regiment, the Queen's Rangers, during the American Revolution, and while he commanded, they never tasted defeat. Relations with the Americans were tense during the 1790's, and Simcoe had to govern the new province under the constant concern of invasion from south of the border. He built roads to facilitate the fastest possible movement of troops in case of such an invasion, and Yonge Street was one of those. The invasion did indeed come, in the war of 1812, and it was the only time that foreign troops sat foot on our soil. However, the man for whom the world's longest street was named, never even set foot in Canada.
   Yonge Street boasts some of Toronto's major attractions along its length, such as the Hockey Hall of Fame, and good ol' Sam the Record Man, an icon of the music industry since the 1960's. Yonge Street has so many towns and sights-to-see, strung along its length like pearls on a necklace. If you're ever in my town, set your feet down on this street, and see where it leads you!