Back to the future

The year was 1912. The Titanic had sunk in April. King George V sat on the English throne. Sir Robert Borden was Canada’s prime minister. In Saskatoon, a new Anglican cathedral was under construction: St. John the Evangelist. Dignitaries laid its cornerstone on Sept. 2, ensconcing behind it a shallow copper time capsule.

Fast forward to April 22, 2012. The cornerstone was carefully removed, and centenarian Isabella Rhodes was on hand to open the time capsule. The Rt. Rev. Thomas O. Morgan, retired bishop of Saskatoon and interim rector of St. John’s, opened the box. “It had been well sealed and everything was bone dry,” he says.

Now housed in an antique display case, the 100-year-old capsule’s contents included a Bible and a Book of Common Prayer, coins of the realm and photos of Bishop J. A. Newnham and Governor General Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught. The cathedral will mark it’s 100th anniversary with three new time capsules. “We’re considering whether it’s worth putting in a Blackberry,” Morgan says.