The University of Western Ontario got a glimpse into its past recently when a time capsule that was buried in the former Support Services Building May 7, 1963 was opened.
Western’s Physical Plant department was taken by surprise when Tonda Construction Limited, which is demolishing the building, handed them a sealed copper box suspected to be a time capsule. On Dec. 3, the contents of the time capsule were revealed to several Physical Plant staff members and Don Smith, co-founder of EllisDon, whose company built the Support Services Building.
“This is a big piece of history for Western,” says Roy Langille, associate vice-president, Physical Plant & Capital Planning Services. “We have a lot of older buildings with time capsules. It may be the only one we open. We don’t tear down buildings very often.” Donning white gloves, university archivist Robin Keirstead removed the contents of the time capsule one-by-one. Inside were A London Evening Free Press newspaper from May 7, 1963; a 1952 penny; an old-style light bulb; a schematic drawing of the organization of the Physical Plant and Grounds department; a photograph of the building under construction; and a sealed envelope containing a list of all the EllisDon employees by trade involved in the construction.
“For most major buildings, it is not uncommon to have a time capsule put in,” says Keirstead. “What’s interesting in this case is from what we can determine, this was done by the Physical Plant department staff and the construction company. It was not done as an official university event. We have no record of a cornerstone laying and a time capsule being included.”
CORNERSTONE OF CAMPUS
While most of us won’t be around to see the any of these time capsules opened, the Western News is providing you with a sneak peek inside the time capsules across campus.
Cancer Research Laboratory. 1961. Box containing documents and records from the National Cancer Research Foundation.
D.B. Weldon Library. 1972. Copper box containing uncirculated 1972 Canadian coins, postage stamps, a copy of the London Free Press, maps of Western and the City of London, a list of all library personnel and a copy of the official program of the event.
Law building, 1960. The contents of the Law cornerstone, laid by D.B. Weldon, remain unknown. However, interesting events lead up to ceremony including the stone being stolen and held for ransom.
Lawson Library. 1934. Remains a mystery at the moment. The Lawson Building had two cornerstones. The official 1934 one over the door and a second set in the ground by former librarian Fred Landon. Bearing the date 1849, it came from London’s first public school. This stone disappeared on the evening of Feb. 20, 1949 and was presumed stolen by persons unknown.
McIntosh Gallery. 1941. Glass bottle sealed with hydrogen in a copper case. Inside the bottle are 14 parchment sheets concerning the war, Canada’s participation and the contribution of The University of Western Ontario to the effort. There are biographies of both Gordon and Wilhelmina McIntosh, a history of the university by W. Tamblyn as well as lists courses, administrators and staff.
Medicine, 1964. Contents of the cornerstone, laid by D.B. Weldon, remain unknown.
Middlesex College. 1959. Steel canister containing copies of The Gazette, London Free Press and Alumni Gazette, a complete set of Western calendars, a football program from Oct. 10, 1959 and a list of the workmen who built the structure.
Somerville House. 1955. Copper box containing a microfilm and photographs of the student newspaper, The Gazette, a complete set of 1955 Canadian coins, postage stamps, menu from Fingal Hall cafeteria, centennial copy of the London Free Press, course calendars from each faculty and two books, These Sixty Years by W. Tamblyn and Western 1878-1953 by Ruth and J.J. Talman.
Stevenson Hall. 1954. Copper box containing stamps, a copy of the London Free Press, coins and several university publications.
Thames Hall. 1949. Copper box containing lists of Western Board of Governors and Senate, publications, coins, stamps, copies of the London Free Press and The Globe and Mail and photographs of the present Western buildings.
University College and Physics Astronomy Buildings. 1923. Glass bottle with coins, stamps and a history of the university.
Visual Arts Department, 1993. Contains a Western calendar with 1878-1978 logo; promotional T-shirt reading “Building a vision. U.W.O. Visual Arts.”; Brenda MacEachern (Finally a Place to Call Home: A collection of clippings and photographs tracing the building the John Labatt Visual Arts Centre at the University of Western Ontario); student publications (Class of 1991 graduation exhibition catalogue and Synthesis, a collection of student writing); art history faculty contributions from José Barrio-Garay (Jack Chambers: The Last Decade), Kathryn Brush (The Naumburg Master: A Chapter in the Development of Medieval Art History) and Corinne Mandel (Felix Culpa and Felix Roma: On the Program of the Sistine Staircase at the Vatican) as well as studio faculty contributions from Helmut Becker (portfolio of handmade papers) and Kim Moodie (paintbrush labeled “Kim Moodie”).
By Alan Noon
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