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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
William McDonald School principal Rachell Simmons says she feels like a child waiting for Christmas as the school is preparing to open a time capsule that has been sealed in concrete for 30 years.

William McDonald School principal Rachell Simmons shows where a 30-year-old time capsule is to be opened next Thursday. - Simon Whitehouse/NNSL photo

Last week, the school cracked into the gyprock wall underneath the staircase just inside the front door. Behind the wall is a concrete case that hold the capsule of mysterious items from 1982.

The school has formed a time capsule opening committee and the items will be revealed during a public open house and ceremony at 6:30 p.m. next Thursday.

"As the principal right now I am anxious to find out in the time capsule what they had as far as programs," she said.

The school, which bears the name of the late geologist, mine engineer and ornithologist William McDonald, opened its doors at its current location on Taylor Road in the fall of 1982. At that time, a group within the school known as the time capsule committee put a box in a slab of concrete underneath the staircase.

Archived coverage by Yellowknifer reveals a ceremony marking the event, which included an appearance by then-commissioner John Parker, who talked about McDonald's importance to the community.

It remains to be seen what is inside the box. A number of items expected to be unearthed include a Rubik's Cube and newspaper articles about the demolition of the old William McDonald School on 53 Street and Franklin Avenue.

Perhaps most timely of the expected items includes a survey put together by then-MLA Bob MacQuarrie and Parker that went out to people in 1982. Among the questions posed to citizens was when they thought a bridge would be finished across the Mackenzie River.

"With the Deh Cho Bridge being finished, the timing is just phenomenal," said Andre Corbeil, who is organizing the opening with Simmons and school secretary Liz West. "I would love to see those answers and the other questions that were part of the survey."

The school, although larger in size in 1982, has proudly retained its identity as a middle school - the only one in the city. There are currently 143 students attending the school, but the number of students who have graduated over the years has not been compiled, said Simmons.

The planned opening of the capsule has taken on a personal historical project of sorts for Corbeil, who was a Grade 7 student when the school opened and attended from 1982 to 1985. He later went on to work for many years with the Yk1 school board and now works for the NWT Teachers' Association.

"We don't know everything that is in the time capsule and even what we do know we kind of want to keep it a secret so that people will come to the event and so there is some interest," said Corbeil.

Corbeil has been attempting to track down students and anyone connected with the school for the ceremony. Among them are Dan Lee, a former teacher and assistant principal with the school, who was staff advisor for the time capsule club. Now nearing the end of his career as a junior kindergarten to Grade 3 music teacher at Stuart W. Baker Elementary School in Haliburton, Ont., he is taking three days off to return to Yellowknife and attend the ceremony.

"It was totally unexpected to have it opened in my lifetime and I didn't think it would be opened until the building was destroyed," Lee said this week.

Lee remembers working with students for a year in preparing the time capsule and consulting with the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre conservator at the time, Sue Cross, to preserve items for the capsule. Among the items that did not make it into the box were audio and video tapes of the preparation work.

"Because we didn't know when the capsule was going to be opened, we didn't know if there would be technology to play them back," said Lee laughing.

Current conservator Rosalie Scott is expected to be on hand to help with the opening of the capsule and handling the items that are revealed. At this point, there are no plans to make another capsule or plan on what will be done with the artifacts.

For now, students are left guessing what is inside.

"We haven't really been talking about it in class, but ever since I came here in Grade 6, I have wondered what was in the box and when it was going to be opened," said Grade 8 student Cory Granter.

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