Colchester in a capsule

Booklet created by Colchester Historeum added to Halifax time capsule

Stories of Colchester County’s efforts to help following the Halifax Explosion will be included in an anniversary time capsule.

‘Colchester to the Rescue,’ a booklet created to recognize the contributions of local residents, and to raise funds for the Colchester Historeum, is one of the items chosen to be included in a capsule prepared by the Halifax Explosion 100th Anniversary Advisory Committee. One of the committee members had been doing some work with Janet Maybee, who created ‘Colchester to the Rescue’) and shared the booklet with other members.

“One of our objectives is to record the contributions made by Canadians to the recovery effort and when we heard about the booklet we thought it would be a wonderful contribution to the time capsule,” said Craig Walkington, chair of the committee. “In a way it’s a thank you to Colchester County for what they did years ago.

“Quite often the focus is on what Boston did, but people don’t know about what was done from the local area.”

The booklet, along with letters from Queen Elizabeth, the gov- ernor general, prime minister, premier, news clippings generated on Dec. 6, 2017, a set of coins, a stamp marking the anniversary of the explosion, a grocery checkout receipt and a program from an anniversary ceremony, will be placed in a time capsule in mid December. The capsule will be placed in a niche inside the Fort Needham monument, in Halifax, where it is to remain until Dec. 6, 2067.

“We decided to create one to leave a legacy from the centenary,” said Walkington. “This booklet is a great addition.”

‘Colchester to the Rescue’ is filled with stories and photos from the time of the explosion and is available at the Colchester Historeum.