City of Swift Current | 13
was initially incorporated as a city. It was
originally formed as a First Nations camp
a century earlier and its name was origi-
nated from a Cree Indian word describing
the rapid flow of the nearby South Sas-
katchewan River.
A settlement was established during
the westward railroad expansion in the
1880s and it became a village in 1904 and
a town three years later before incorpora-
tion with Frank West as the first mayor.
These days, the incumbent isn’t shy
about singing the praises, regardless of
the year.
“Swift Current is a welcoming and
vibrant community with many qualities
that make it a great place to live, work,
retire and raise a family,” Schafer says.
“Its continued development and growth
offers many exciting work and business
opportunities. We believe we have a lot to
celebrate for a lot of reasons, not just be-
cause of the anniversary. We’re very, very
proud of what we have.”