CENTRE WELLINGTON – Last year, during the demolition of the old Groves Memorial Community Hospital in Fergus, officials found a copper time capsule nestled in the cornerstone of the original 1954 wing.
Hospital spokesperson Alison Armstrong said staff knew nothing about the existence of the capsule.
They finally opened it on Aug. 8 to commemorate five years since they moved to the new Groves hospital in 2020.
Among the items in the capsule were newspapers, a floor plan of the original hospital and a document recognizing the placing of the time capsule at the hospital’s opening in 1954.
A crowd comprised mostly of staff gathered to watch the unveiling, led by Dr. John Stickney and Dr. Matthew Westendorp, in the healing garden behind the new Groves hospital.
Stickney, who was born in Fergus in 1950, said he suspects the large amount of Beatty Brothers Limited material in the box could be due to the Beatty brothers contributing financially to the construction of the old hospital.
Beatty Bros. Ltd., a large manufacturing company in Fergus from 1874 to 1969, made donations of $50,000 in each of 1943, 1948 and 1949 to the construction of the hospital.
Armstrong said she loved “seeing the papers and the ads from 1954 and the price of things,” noting it will be interesting to go through the old documents and compare them to modern standards.
She explained the contents of the box will be displayed in the hospital’s main lobby, but not for too long.
Armstrong said the hospital plans to place a new time capsule in the current hospital, which will include all-new material from 2025, as well as the contents of the old time capsule.
She said the new capsule could contain photos that staff have been submitting, as well as diagnostic tools such as a blood glucose reader.
“Something that’s kind of cutting edge now, but will it be cutting edge in the future?”
A 1954 copy of the ‘Fergus News Record’ was among the items in the time capsule. Photo by Owen Starling
The complete list of items contained in the metal capsule includes:
- a copy of The Telegram, an old Toronto newspaper, dated June 11, 1955;
- copy of the Fergus News Record, dated Dec. 2, 1954;
- document from the Town of Fergus, dated Dec. 9, 1954, declaring “the cornerstone of the new Groves Memorial Community Hospital was laid this afternoon at 3:00 o’clock by the Hon. MacKinnon Phillips, Minister of Health for Ontario”;
- envelope titled “To whom it may concern” that contains two Canadian coins from 1945 and 1949, and a letter from Eric White, chairman of the County of Wellington, which noted Groves hospital is one of the most modern small hospitals in the province and wondered how times will have changed when the letter is opened, predicting that space travel will have been figured out;
- two insurance booklets from Beatty Bros. Ltd.;
- collective agreement between Beatty Bros. and the United Steel Workers of America and Local Number 3789;
- voters’ list for the town of Fergus for 1954;
- booklet celebrating the centennial of Wellington County, from 1854 to 1954;
- floor plan of the old Groves hospital;
- booklet titled Our Valley from the Department of Planning and Development, which showcased the history on the various watersheds of the area; and
- booklet titled “The Motorist’s Manual.”
Various booklets were inside the capsule, as well as a floor plan of the old hospital. Photo by Owen Starling
