The Burns Lake Rotary Club’s time capsule that was buried 25 years ago was dug up and the contents have been revealed.
The capsule was buried in 1998 to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the village of Burns Lake.
Lynn Synotte, Secretary of the Burns Lake Rotary Club said, “We dug it up in June to make sure all the contents had survived.”
She said, “We packed the contents in silica for a month to extract all the moisture before we opened them.”
Most of the contents survived, although there was some moisture present in some of the packages. There was some damage; one hat was unreadable and there was some damage to few pictures but the rest survived.
There were 11 personal letters, mainly from moms and dads to their children. Two of whom were deceased. It was very emotional for the family.
Synotte said, “We contacted all these people and notified them so they could receive their letters. We still have one letter whose recipients we have been unable to contact.”
The letter was from Samantha and Jordan Dyck to Chona and Rob Dyck. If anyone knows these people please contact Jessi Jack of the Burns Lake Native Development Corporation (BLNDC) at 250 692 3188.
Synotte stated, “It was very emotional to walk back in time. I had a letter in there and realized when I read it, my daughter is the same age as I was when I wrote it and I am the same age as my mother at that time. It sure puts things in perspective.”
The articles were on display in the Centennial committee’s headquarters tent.
Anyone who would like to submit an item to the next time capsule is welcome.
She said, “We did receive some submissions at the event but wanted to give more time.”
Submissions can be made until Sept. 15 and can be dropped off at the BLNDC.
The new time capsule will be buried at the end of September in the rotary garden in front of the College of New Caledonia, where the last time capsule rested for 25 years. It will be again opened at the village’s 125 anniversary in 2048.
The burying event will be announced when a date is solidified.
Here is a list of some items that were found in the 1998 time capsule inventory: Village of Burns Lake - Staff picture, Babine Forest Products - three posters – laminated information, Lakes District Family Enhancement Society - Business Envelope, Lakes District News - three 1998 Lakes District News newspapers, DeBruijn Enterprises – Kids “N” Us Curiosity Store, New Generation Computer- James Okano, Letter to Josh and Bart Van Tine, Remax Wrightway Realty, Flyer for Blue Grass Festival and many more.
