Almost exactly 50 years after two little girls celebrated Canada’s centennial by hiding handwritten notes in an Ottawa home, a family with their own young children has found them.
Christine and Johan Vorordouw were doing renovations behind a fireplace in their basement when they heard a “clink” and realized they had hit a rusty-lidded glass jar.
“It was all spider webs and dusty,” says Christine, “but then I could see the writing inside.”
The notes were dated May 20, 1967, and referenced Canada’s 100th birthday. One was from Julie Gardner, 11. The other was from her sister Jane Gardner, 8.
“Here’s a penny from 1967,” said the note from Jane.
Johan called it a “beautiful happenstance” that the notes were found just as their own children were learning about Canada’s 150th birthday.
Christine posted about the notes on Facebook and Jane Gardner – now 58 – reached out to the Voordouws and received an invitation to visit her childhood home.
“It's kind of like a time warp for me, seeing these kids, being in the same house,” Gardner says. “It’s sort of like being nine-years-old or eight-years-old again.”
Gardner remembers the excitement of Canada’s centennial but says she doesn’t remember writing the note.
The Voordouws three children, ages two to six, have now written their own notes and hidden them in the house. Johan says he hopes a future family who lives there will one day find the messages.
With a report from CTV Ottawa’s Joanne Schnurr
