The year 1957 was a year of change, innovation, ambition and action. John Diefenbaker was named Prime Minister following the Progressive Conservatives’ defeat of the Liberals, the U.S. and Canada created the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD), Lester B. Pearson won the Nobel Peace Prize and Elvis Presley made five Canadian appearances – the only live performances he gave outside of the United States.
That same year, ultrasound scanning was pioneered in Scotland, the USSR launched Sputnik 1 and inaugurated the Space Age and Space Race, American Bandstand debuted on television in the United States, the Tropicana Hotel opened in Las Vegas and the first Frisbee (initially called the Pluto Platter) was thrown.
Nineteen fifty-seven was also the peak of the baby boom, and saw the births of Rick Hansen, Donny Osmond, Sid Vicious, Gloria Estefan, Shannon Tweed, Spike Lee, Katie Couric, Daniel Day-Lewis, Mike Bossy, Bret Hart, two famous Carolines – one a princess of Monaco and one the daughter of the future president, John F. Kennedy – as well as nearly half a million Canadians.
One other important event happened in 1957. Lethbridge College opened its doors, becoming Canada’s first publicly-funded community college.
Sixty years later, the college is proud to be celebrating its six decades in style, including in the pages of this magazine. All three issues of Wider Horizons this year will be recognizing the anniversary in different ways. In this issue, we look at Lethbridge College as a place – and highlight 60 favourite spots on campus suggested to us by students, staff, alumni and friends of the college.
One of those favourite spots is Kodiak House, which is featured on pages 4 and 5 in a glowing morning photo captured by Rod Leland, a Marketing and Communications colleague, on his cell phone camera on the way in to work. And don’t miss checking out some other favourite campus spaces, including the LCSA office, the gardens at the south end of campus where Bhutanese senior citizens gardened all summer and the second phase of the new trades and technologies building with its wood, windows and amazing light.
We’d love to hear about and see your favourite Lethbridge College places and encourage you to email us at [email protected] or share your story on our social media using the hashtag #LC1957. Help us celebrate our 60th by taking part in the festivities!
And as always, thanks for reading Wider Horizons. The magazine started 10 years ago as part of the college’s 50th anniversary celebrations, and it is now distributed to more than 39,000 people three times each year. About half of our readers are alumni, and the other half receive the magazine with Lethbridge’s city magazine, Lethbridge Living – and we are grateful to all of you who read the stories, enjoy the photos, write in with your updates and story ideas, and pass the issue along to your friends and families.
Thanks for reading and for celebrating Lethbridge College’s 60th with us!
