Thanks to Carl Engstrom for sharing his valuable knowledge of the history of SWARTA. Carl served as Treasurer for SWARTA for several years.

Between 1961 and the official formation of ARTA in 1963, various meeting were held in Lethbridge. On September 3, 1963, an application was made to have the Alberta Retired Teachers’ Association incorporated under the Societies Act. A charter was issued on November 14, 1963, and SWARTA is listed as an originating branch in A History of the Alberta Retired Teachers’ Association (1963-1993) by
R. L. Rhine.

Mr. George Watson was Secretary-Treasurer of ARTA from April 25, 1964, to December 4, 1964, and from 1969 to 1972. D. S. Kyle held that position from 1964 to 1968. These two gentlemen along with Joe Lakie, who had retired in 1973, played an important role in the SWARTA branch of ARTA in the early years of our existence. In May 1982, Mr. Joe Lakie was referred to as ‘Mr. ATA’ by Mr. Van Orman, then President of ARTA. Joe was a member of the ATA Discipline Committee, ATA Pension Committee, and the ATA Local and Provincial jurisdictions. In October 1998, Joe was awarded a life membership in ARTA.

SWARTA was first known as the Retired Teachers Association (Lethbridge) from 1963 to 1987. The name was then changed to the Southwestern Alberta Retired Teachers Association.

SWARTA included the areas of Crowsnest Pass, Cardston, Pincher Creek, and Fort McLeod to the west and southwest, Milk River and Warner to the south, Taber to the east and the City of Lethbridge (Lethbridge Public, Holy Spirit Catholic,) and Palliser Regional Schools.

Membership in SWARTA was 210 in 1980 and 288 in November 2001 with seven life members. The membership fee was $1.00 per year until 1981 when it was increased to $2.00 per year. In 1987, it was increased to $3.00 and is now $12.00 per year. In 2019 our membership ranges in the 225 – 250 range.

In the past, three general meetings were held yearly—one in February in conjunction with the teachers’ convention, one in May which was the annual general meeting, and one in November. These meetings have been held in various locations over the years. The McKillop Curriculum Centre and the Lethbridge School Division office were used in the early years. Convention meetings were once held at the Lethbridge Collegiate Institute or at the University of Lethbridge. Currently there are two general meetings held annually—one in May (annual meeting) and one in October. SWARTA has used the Lethbridge Senior Citizens Organization centre for its annual and general meetings. Recently, the CASA centre has been used for general meetings and the ATA Local #41 office is used for executive meetings.

Three social functions are the highlights each year. An early summer picnic was first held in June 1985 and continued until 2017 to be held in various locations within our geographical area. Now, instead of a picnic, SWARTA has a spring luncheon at the Lethbridge College with the culinary arts students preparing a magnificent buffet for the group to enjoy.

In September 1989, Bea Hales held the first Pancake Breakfast at her home. For many years, it was held at a picnic site in the river bottom and became an annual event where new retirees were welcomed and introduced to our branch and to ARTA. Currently, this “Breakfast in Paradise” is held at the Paradise Canyon Golf Resort in Lethbridge in early September.

The third social function is a Christmas luncheon, an annual event that was first held in 1993. In recent years, it has been held at the Henderson Lake Golf Course, the LSCO and in 2019 moves to the Country Kitchen.

Besides these functions, each district area meets once a month for a luncheon, breakfast, or other social event.

On a sad note—In 1983 a committee was formed to peruse the files that had been stored in the ATA office in Lethbridge. From what we can determine, those files were thrown out, so we have no records from 1963 to 1978.