It’s a peek into Thunder Bay’s history with the opening of a time capsule from 25 years ago.
It was unveiled at the New Year’s Levee as the city officially started the 50th anniversary celebrations.
Mayor Bill Mauro notes one highlight was a letter from then-MP Joe Comuzzi asking questions like if we have one hospital serving the city, and if the Fort William Gardens is still standing.
“And here we are, 25 [years] later and it’s still plugging along, and it still has some useful life in it. But I think that maybe in the short term you might see something happen where people turn their eye on whether or not we need to see a new facility.”
The capsule also featured memorabilia from the 1995 Nordic Winter Games, items from Fort William Historical Park and Fort William First Nation, and photos of the City Council of the day.
Mauro, who started serving on City Council in 1997, says it was a trip down memory lane.
“I saw some of the pictures in there, and so many of the faces were familiar to me, people that I know personally or professionally. Each of those faces brings back some memories, so it was exciting to be part of that.”
City Archivist Matt Szybalski notes things like this allow people to feel connected to the past and future.
“People have sort of a need or a desire to capture the moment in which they’re living, in hoping to communicate that with future generations.”
It also contained a list of the businesses in the 1995 Chamber of Commerce,
“It’s surprising the variety of stuff that was in there, and the number of things that people in the community thought would be worthwhile looking at 25 years from now. It’s a really good cross-section, and it’s not even everything that was in the box.” The time capsule’s contents will be put on display, and city officials say they will be asking residents for ideas on what will go in the next capsule.
Click here to open the full list of the contents of the time capsule.
