Nearly 100 pairs of eyes were glued to the metal time capsule, placed on a table at the Alex Dufresne Gallery, anxiously waiting for the lock to be snapped open with bolt cutters, revealing mementos from a quarter of a century ago. What lay inside gave a glimpse at life as it was in 1992 in the Municipality of North Himsworth, now known as Callander.
The time capsule was opened at the same location where it had been sealed. On July 1st 1992, during Canada's 125th celebration, residents gathered at the North Himsworth Museum to fill the box with items they thought would be of interest 25 years later.
And so it was on July 1st, 2017 during Canada's 150th celebrations, some of the same people and some who weren't even born at the time, gathered at the museum, now referred to as the Callander Bay Heritage Museum, to step back in time.
The first item removed was a Canada 125 t-shirt. What followed were pictures of Callander Bay, the town and dock as well as the oldest lighthouse on Lake Nipissing at Lighthouse beach, all which were shot by Steve Newman from a Canadore College helicopter to celebrate Canada's 125th birthday. Other items included tapes, a photo of all the students who attended M.T. Davidson Public School and school staff, coins, a bible, letters, personal photos, a phone book, and work by a local artist.
In the crowd was Claudette Borchers who lives in Kansas, but is in the area visiting family members.
"I think about my grandmother and her family history in the area, and I just thought the whole thing was a great idea. It was very interesting," said Borchers.
Also taking in the big reveal was Don Clysdale who wrote the book, ''Callander Now and Then."
"I was truly amazed at the thought that went in to selecting the items." .Clydsdale said, "I enjoyed seeing the variety of contributions from local community groups."
Betty Dean brought her four children and their families to watch memories being shared. Dean who was a municipal councillor in 1992 emceed the original celebration.
"Oh there were lots of flashbacks. The North Himsworth ball shirt, I was the treasurer for minor baseball at the time and it brought back memories of Jim Barker and the contributions that he and his wife Pat made to local baseball," said Dean. "And when they posted the photo of the museum. Helen Lloyd was one of the museum board members. I came today wearing a sweater that she actually made and it has North Himsworth, a drawing of the museum on one side, the Chief Commanda is on the back, so I just donated it for the next 25 year time capsule to keep Helen Lloyd's memory going."
Museum Curator Natasha Wiatr says it only seems right to continue the 25 year tradition for the next generation. A call will go out for volunteers to form a committee to create a time capsule for Canada 175.
"Hopefully we'll find some volunteers who are willing to brainstorm ideas. I like the idea of having a day where we come together for a celebration, perhaps in the fall. It needs to be sealed by the end of the year. The museum of course will absolutely help," said Wiatr.
"Seeing the reaction from the crowd and even watching the faces of the town councillors, it felt really good. It was a tender moment that happened multiple times. It just shows the type of community Callander is. So hopefully 25 years from now the reaction will be the same."
The items will be documented and returned.
The museum live streamed the capsule opening on its Facebook page for people who were unable to make it to Saturday's celebration.
