According to the August 18, 1980 Lethbridge Herald, the Lethbridge Community College Barn was the site of a large and happy block party with 200 people attending. It was an unusual block party as the people invited included present occupants of the houses on the 1100 block of 12 A Street South as well as everyone else who lived there since 1949. Some guests still lived in the homes they occupied in the late 1940s. The party, which was both a celebration of Alberta’s 75th anniversary as a province and a great reunion, involved a day of visiting with old and new friends and ended with a dinner and dance.

Kay Jamieson, who was living in Calgary at the time, was the main organizer of the get together after her children asked to return to Lethbridge for a visit. The Jamieson family was the first occupant of one of the war time houses on the block, moving in December of 1949. The three Jamieson children had happy memories of growing up in the 1950s along with a large number of neighbourhood kids. Their parents developed lifelong friendships with other adults who lived next door and down the street.

Everyone who lived on the street when the bungalows and two story homes were first built were military veterans with at least two children. Most were veterans of the Second World War but at least one veteran served in both the First and Second World Wars. The first inhabitants moved into houses without lawns, trees, or fences. Someone borrowed a small tractor and plow and, in the spring of 1950, the front and back yards the full length of both sides of the street were broken and prepared for grass and garden seeds and sapling trees.

On Tuesday, August 23 the Scenic Plaza Whoop-Up Days Block Party begins at 11:30 am following the Parade at the Galt Museum South Garden. Enjoy easts & entertainment and a whoop-up good time! Admission is $3/person and proceeds will support a local charity.