Time capsule was culmination of effort to create city park
Social activist Millie Smith fought to prevent coulee becoming a dump
When she wasn't opposing the Vietnam War, Calgarian Millie Smith was stumping for the creation of Confederation Park.
And the visionary also helped fill a time capsule a half century ago to mark the dedication of the beloved 160-hectare leafy expanse developed to honour the country's centennial.
On Saturday, that repository of a time when the Beatles' Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band ruled the airwaves and the city's population stood at 335,000 will be unearthed.
Smith, 93, has an inkling of what'll be found in the vessel buried beneath the flag plaza on 10 Street N.W.
“I placed some pamphlets that we gave out to make people aware of the park,” said the woman who's the last living member of the nineperson Centennial Ravine Park Society.
“There should be some money of the day, newspapers ... an itinerary of the ceremony that day.”
That day was August 7, 1967 — a little late to have celebrated the nation's 100th birthday on July 1, 1967.
But it was a momentous occasion of its own, the culmination of more than three years of lobbying to ensure what was then known as the North Hill Coulee wasn't turned into a garbage landfill, said Smith, whose task was to organize speakers at open houses.
Memberships to the cause were sold for $5, she recalled.
In the capsule might also be found a photo of the park at its birth, a humble and barren beginning compared to the manicured lushness of today, she said.
“All the trees looked rather insignificant, but all of the young people were very interested because they could plant a tree and have their names on it,” said Smith.
“But we could visualize and thought ‘ Will any of us still be alive 50 years?' We knew the time capsule would be opened someday, but 50 years seemed like a heck of a long ways away.”
The park's proven a richly rewarding asset that pays daily dividends to Calgary's citizens, said its co-founder.
“Hats off to the city because they've done a wonderful job in keeping it looking perfect,” she said.
Smith also found time to help create Meals on Wheels in Calgary and was a member of the group Voices of Women, which took a stand against the U.S. war in Vietnam — an unpopular position in a deeply conservative city, she said.
“Some people would phone us up and tell us we had to be Communists — it wasn't so easy,” said Smith.
The time capsule's scheduled to be unveiled at 11 a.m.
We knew the time capsule would be opened someday, but 50 years seemed like a heck of a long ways away.