A few years late, Hay River time capsule to be opened

A time capsule was buried at Hay River’s Harry Camsell School in the year 2000. Now, almost 25 years later, it’s finally set to be recovered. 

The capsule was buried on October 12, 2000, and was supposed to be unburied on October 12, 2020. However, due to Covid-19 restrictions, it was initially postponed until October 12 of the following year.

Now, five years later, it remains in the ground.

Shayla O’Connor, a former student at Harry Camsell School, has taken the initiative in recovering the time capsule. 

“I’m one of those people who are really antsy to see what’s all in there,” O’Connor told Cabin Radio. 

While a specific date for the capsule to be opened has not yet been confirmed, O’Connor hopes to dig it up in time for the town’s Canada Day parade, so it can feature in that event before its contents are revealed.

She plans to redistribute the items to those who placed them inside 25 years ago. 

Asked why the retrieval has been delayed for so many years, O’Connor said: “Post-2020, there were travel restrictions and all that, especially in 2021, and, since then, it’s just never been looked at again.”

O’Connor said the event is gaining traction in the town, with some volunteering to help recover the capsule and many people curious to see what the students put inside it all those years ago.

Kyle Camsell, Harry Camsell’s grandson, is one of those people wanting to see not only what other students placed within the capsule – which is formed from an old lake buoy – but also what he put in there himself. 

Asked what he anticipated seeing come from the container, Camsell said, “Maybe a couple of period pieces, like action figures and Pokémon cards.” 

“We were all told to write on a piece of paper where we anticipated we’d be in the next 20 years,” said Camsell. 

Camsell says he will attend the retrieval and opening of the capsule. He has a special connection to the school as it is named after his grandfather. Harry Camsell was a janitor at the school, his grandson said, and a big part of the community who was always there to help, especially getting kids to school. 

“The school was across the river. So, when he would boat to school, he’d also take five or so kids with him every day. He did that for years,” Camsell told Cabin Radio. 

Camsell and O’Connor were both Grade 4 students when the capsule was buried. Camsell remembers placing a photo of himself, his mum and dad, as well as an old watch and some Pokémon cards.

O’Connor does not remember what she put inside, but is intrigued to see what her fourth-grade self wanted to remember in 20 years.