Pins, flags and a phone book from 1995. Those things were among the items found on Tuesday in two time capsules sealed after the 1995 Canada Winter Games in Grande Prairie. Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum Managing Director Donna Hateley says everything was collected during the torch’s 16 community tour 24 years ago.
“The communities put into the time capsule different items and then that was all sealed up and was presented to the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame to be opened the next time that Alberta hosted the Canada Winter Games. That is happening in less than a month in Red Deer.”
Also in the capsule was the torch from the 1995 games, a uniform and some newspaper clippings. Hateley says one of the most interesting things she found inside were signed banners from all 16 communities on the original torch run.
“There were very large banners probably I would say about 15 feet long and each community had people within their community autograph the banners… We opened up all of them, especially the one from Red Deer, so we had people here at the press conference that actually found their signature on the banner from 1995.”
All the items found this time around will be put on display at the museum during the 2019 games. After that, they will be put into the sports hall of fame.
The time capsules are the first ones to be opened by the museum. This is also the first year the torch has made its way across Canada since the games started in 1967. Hateley says items from this years torch run will be collected from across the province and the country and sealed up to be opened when the games return.
The Canada Games is the largest multi-sport and cultural event for youth in Canada. It will also be the largest event hosted in Red Deer’s history. It will run from February 15th to March 3rd.
