Gifts under glass

Gifts from Thunder Bay’s sister cities have a new home at the Victoriaville Mall.

A glass cabinet holding a variety of items was unveiled on Wednesday. The items shown were gifts to Thunder Bay from its sister cities. Some of the gifts included a rock from Hiroshima, a liberty bell from Minnesota and many more.

Aldo Ruberto, chairman of Sister Cities, said the cabinet's location is a good place to get maximum exposure for people to see it as they pay their bills.

"We do have sister relationships and they do bear fruit," said Ruberto. "Having it here keeps it in the public’s mind."

Ruberto said when people read the information provided, they will know more about the sister cities.

Ruberto said that the Sister Cities program has provided Thunder Bay with an economic avenue. He added that for every dollar a local member spends on the program, they get about $18 back into the local economy.

"Our toughest job is getting that information out to the public," he said.

Matt Szybalski, city archivist, put the display together and wrote the text. He said he would rather have it in the cabinet where people can see them than in the city’s archives.

Szybalski said when he put the display together, he focused on displaying items from the five cities that are active.

"This spot gets more traffic than any other civic offices," said Szybalski. "I think it is important for people to see the exchanges that go on between the sister cities and learn a little bit about the program and why it is important that all cities learn from each other."

The current sister cities of Thunder Bay include: Seinäjoki, Finland; Little Canada, Minn.; Duluth, Minn.; Keelung, Taiwan; Gifu City, Japan.