Lethbridge, Alberta – At the request of City Council, the City of Lethbridge and the Galt Museum & Archives opened up the 50 year and 100 year time capsules yesterday, to determine if water had damaged these capsules.  This was done because of the water damage found in the 25 year time capsule when it was opened last year.

 Although every attempt to construct a water-tight environment was made 26 years ago when the capsules were buried, ground water has damaged a great deal of the contents ofboth the 50 and 100 year time capsules. 

 The City has emptied the contents of the two time capsules, placing them in plastic bags and freezingthem to help dry them out.  Thiswill prevent any further mould damage.  Not all the material will be recoverable, especially that contained within the 50 year time capsule.

 The City of Lethbridge and the Galt Museum & Archives will be working over the next month to identify the contents as well as the intended recipients of the envelopes. 

 “We will be contacting those recipients directly as we identify them, and provide them with information on how to preserve the contents,” says David Sarsfield with the City of Lethbridge.  “The City and the Galt had 100% success in locating the owners of the 25 year material, and expect a high success rate for the material we recovered yesterday.”

 The time capsules were buried in 1985 as part of the Lethbridge Centennial Celebration, to be opened in 2010, 2035, and 2085.

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For more information contact: 

David Sarsfield, Time Capsule

City of Lethbridge                                                        

(403) 329-7329 | david.sarsfield@lethbridge.ca