A window to Windsor's vibrant and colourful past is now open.
Museum Windsor celebrated its 60th anniversary with the opening of a time capsule on Friday. The capsule featured artefacts placed there in 1988 when the museum celebrated its 30th anniversary.
The museum got its beginnings on May 7, 1958, opening in the historic Francois Baby House on Pitt St. E. It was previously known as the Hiram Walker Historical Museum. The house itself has been on the site since 1812. Museum Windsor now includes the Chimczuk Museum downtown and the Duff-Baby Interpretation Centre in Old Sandwich Towne.
A display featuring many of the items in the time capsule is on display in the basement of the house. They include photos from schoolchildren, a rotary telephone and videotape from a local television station.
The highlight of the event was the reading of two letters taken from the time capsule. Mayor Drew Dilkens read one left by Camilla Wigle, the widow of former Ford City and East Windsor Mayor John Wigle. Mrs Wigle died in 2008 at the age of 107.
"May the history of Windsor and the messages recorded be digested by the new generation, to realise from whence they came," the letter, dated May 7, 1988, read.
Two video clips taken from the capsule were shown at the event. One featured press coverage of the 30th-anniversary event in 1988, which included footage of the former Canadian Tire store on the site of the current Windsor International Aquatic Centre. The other was a showcase of Windsor from the Windsor Essex Economic Development Corporation.
The Baby House will continue the 60th anniversary on Saturday, when it is open from 10am to 5pm. Complete information is available online.