High school time capsule offers taste of 1952
Leamington District Secondary School students and staff had one last thing to do before leaving their Talbot Street West school building.
The Leamington community gathered on Saturday morning to unearth a time capsule from 1952 that was lodged underneath the school’s cornerstone.
The time capsule reveal was the main attraction for the school’s Last Roar event, to celebrate the school before students and staff relocate to a new building in September.
“We found out through community involvement that there was a possibility of a time capsule in the school,” said Butch Rickeard, department head of Canadian and world studies at Leamington District Secondary School.
The time capsule’s existence was rediscovered in a six-hour video tape about the school, filmed in the 1950s.
“We found this minute-and-ahalf clip about the opening of this school,” Rickeard said. “There’s just a very subtle moment, about 10 seconds in the video, of someone slipping the time capsule underneath the cornerstone.”
Rickeard — who has taught at the school for 16 years — started digging for more information. He identified people who attended the school more than six decades ago through community connections and old yearbooks.
“So we invited them to be here today, and be the ones who actually take it out.”
The rectangular capsule was lodged underneath the school building’s cornerstone for more than 65 years, after being placed in the wall by then-Ontario premier Leslie Frost. The building at 125 Talbot St. W. was built in 1952 and opened to students on Nov. 3, 1953.
Inside the capsule were pictures of students, newspapers from the era and a school crest.
“It looks like it’s a really good summary of what was going on in that era, what was important to them,” said Rickeard. “As any good time capsule should be.”
Harold Puyda, then a student, saw the time capsule being put in. Saturday, he helped remove it. “It was great,” Puyda said. “It was an honour, really.
“I never thought going back this many years that it’d still be here ... because I’m 81 years old. That I’d be at the opening of the school and the closing of the school ... is amazing really. I’m blessed to be able to do that.”
More than 300 people, including many former students and staff, attended the event.
“When you come to Leamington, the community is so inviting that people will stay here,” said Rickeard. “We’ve got many teachers on staff currently who have been teachers here for most of their careers, and definitely former staff as well. It’s a great place.”
In September, students and staff will relocate to a new facility on Oak Street West in Leamington.
Principal Kyle Berard called the move “bittersweet.”
“This has been a great part of the community, this school,” Berard said. “But we’re going to continue the tradition. The next school is just unbelievable.
“It’s built for the 21st-century learner. The amenities are phenomenal.
“It’s going to be another great addition to the community of Leamington. So I’m just very proud and privileged to be a part of it.”