THUNDER BAY – The time capsule sealed within the Foundation walls of the Finnish Labour Temple has been recovered by the work crews who have been on the lookout for it since owner Brad McKinnon was approached by the Thunder Bay Finnish Canadian Historical Society.
“We were ecstatic when we recovered the time capsule yesterday. I mean, myself and all the guys were surprised to see that the location where it was actually deposited in the foundation and we’re absolutely relieved that it wasn’t lost in all the rubble,” said McKinnon.
“You know, hundreds of truckloads of material that came off there, it could have easily, easily gone under the radar and, you know, just gone out with a bucket of waste.”
The Capsule was found in the concrete wall near the Calico Coffee House which was originally the office of the first Finnish newspaper in Canada, the Canadan Uutiset (the Canadian News).
“My reaction was one of surprise and delight. I just found out last night and, you know, Jorma sent me an email and he said we were keeping this very hush-hush for now, and I was, I was ecstatic. I was very pleased that it had been discovered.” said Saku Pinta, chair, Thunder Bay Finnish Canadian Historical Society.
McKinnon handed the Capsule over to the Historical Society on March 3, and the organization plans to have an opening ceremony in roughly one month.
“We’re going to do an official opening. Nobody’s seen the contents inside the capsule. We have an idea of what’s in there, but nobody’s actually looked in, nobody’s actually opened it,” said Pinta.
“So we’re going to have an unveiling, an official; opening where we open the capsule and, that will coincide with a kick-off of the fundraising events for the rebuilding of the cupola.”
The capsule was placed in the wall of the Finnish Labour Temple in 1909 and is believed to contain a copy of the Canadan Uutiset along with a speech by Moses Hahl the editor of the newspaper which was recorded on a piece of white silk and various other historical items.
The opening ceremony will be open to the public and the Thunder Bay Finnish Canadian Historical Society hopes that many people come to witness this glance back into local history.
