What's in a name?
New street signs correct old error; most Gallupians unaware of mistake

By Kevin Killough
Staff writer

The new street signs the city recently on Philipin Avenue are misspelled as "Philipina". All of them, including this one on Country Club Drive have the error. [Photo by Brian Leddy/Independent]

GALLUP — Would a road by any other name still be the same street? About three weeks ago, residents on Philipin Road in the Grandview neighborhood were surprised when the city put up new signs that read “Philipina.” What seems like an amusing typo is in fact a correction decades overdue.

The road was named after former Gallup Mayor George Bubany’s wife, Philipina. According to local historian, Martin Link, John Guest, the mayor’s son-in-law, developed most of the area.

“I guess he wanted to name the street after his mother-in-law,” Link said.

And so the road was originally named Philipina. Exactly how the “a” got dropped is a matter of speculation. But the mistake occurred about 25 years ago.

“I went off to college and came back and the sign said Philipin,” former City Attorney George Kozeliski, who is named after George Bubany, said.

The mistake sat as a mild irritation in the back of Kozeliski’s mind until one day he heard someone pronounce the street with its improper name.

“At that point, I said, ‘That’s it,’” said Kozeliski.

He said that he then dug out the original subdivision map and brought the mistake to the attention of the city manager’s office. Now, the street is once again restored to its original name.

“I kinda had to chuckle when I saw they changed it back,” Kozeliski said. “I thought, ‘Well, got that done.’”