Time capsule found

BIBLE HILL - Yesterday was a nostalgic day for Ralph Gosby.
The Debert resident watched with about 15 others as a time capsule from the Sable Building in Agri-TECH Park was opened for the first time in 59 years. The square metal box was soldered shut and sealed behind the cornerstone of the building in mid-January 1949.
"It was amazing," said Gosby, after the box was unsealed. "Just to see the history come out of the box, to see it and look at the stuff just takes you back."
Gosby was only five years old at the time the box was sealed, but he spent 30 years working at the Nova Scotia Youth Training Centre, which owned the Sable Building. He also fought unsuccessfully to keep the facility open when the government decided to close it in the mid-1990s.
But that's all in the past, said Gosby. Friday he was just curious to see what was in the capsule. He even dug out his old staff jacket from the training centre to wear to the event.
"It amazes me that somebody went through the trouble at the time to do it. It's not too often that they do that now. They put up big buildings but they don't bother putting any information in them," he said in wonderment.
It took a hammer, chisel and sheet metal cutters to open the box. Inside the capsule were several well-persevered items, including five Canadian coins all dated 1949, copies of the Truro Daily News and The Chronicle Herald both from Nov. 12 of the same year, and several documents from the Nova Scotia Training School and the Nova Scotia Society for Mental Hygiene.
The training centre properties were transferred to the Nova Scotia Agricultural College in 1996 and became part of Agri-TECH Park. The college suspected there was some type of time capsule in the Sable Building but was unsure until demolition crews uncovered one earlier this week.
NSAC co-president Bernie MacDonald helped open the capsule.
"We were excited," said a smiling MacDonald after the opening. "We're delighted the appropriate people were able to come."
Any documents of interest in the capsule will be given to the local archives and any remainders will be stored at the NSAC.