Time capsule at Fergus hospital opened after 70 years

A recently uncovered time capsule is giving us a glimpse into the past. CTV’s Heather Senoran reports.

Crews tasked with tearing down the old Groves Memorial Community Hospital in Fergus, Ont. made a surprising discovery.

A time capsule was hidden away in its walls for more than seven decades.

“The capsule was laid there, I guess, in 1954 or 1955 when they were building the hospital at the time,” Matthew Westendorp, Groves Memorial Community Hospital’s chief of staff, said.

The time capsule’s contents remained a mystery until Friday, when members of the Wellington Health Care Alliance opened the metal box to see what was inside.

When the time capsule was cracked open old newspaper pages from 1954 and 1955, pamphlets, a union book and blueprints to the old building were found inside.

For John Stickney, a family physician who worked at the old hospital for more than four decades, the blueprints held special significance.

“We walked those halls. We took care of babies and sick children,” Stickney said.

Stickney still works part-time at the new hospital, but looking through the documents brought back memories.

“I was just looking at the obstetrical area, which is where my children were born – in that particular room. And one of my grandchildren,” he said.

Although staff admitted the new building was much needed, the stroll down memory lane was welcome.

“I think the square footage of the building [is] probably close to double the old square footage, but that’s simply because the modern needs and space is bigger and different than it was back then,” Westendorp said.

More than a dozen staff members and history enthusiasts were there to see the capsule opened.

“It’s great to see what was in it and how well things didn’t mould. It was well preserved,” Kathy Bouma, a member of the Wellington County Historical Society, said.

One of the most unique finds was a sealed envelope containing a handwritten letter from a councillor at the time. The letter described what life was like in the 1950’s.

“That they were in peace and security and they hoped that we were as well, that we’ve remembered things that mattered and things that were important, that they valued the town and the growth and the people that made the town great,” said Westendorp.

The note ended with a prediction from its writer saying, ‘We’re travelling faster than the speed of sound but you’re probably travelling in space.’

Current staff said they will be putting together a new time capsule for the next generation of healthcare providers to uncover one day.

Westendorp noted they will make it clear where the new time capsule is placed, given that they almost never found the old one.

His message for the future was filled with empathy.

“I think one of the challenges we have in our era is that the human element of what we do is often getting eclipsed by dollars and cents or by technology or demand,” he said. “People are really what we’re doing it for – both the patients and your colleagues.”