His Excellency Earl Grey, the Governor General of Canada, laid this cornerstone at the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly Building as it was being built in 1909.
The Governor General is the representative of the reigning British Monarch, at the time King George V. The Governor General of Canada performs the Monarch's ceremonial and constitutional duties in Canada.
The cornerstone is located at left side of the Main Entrance to the Saskatchewan Legislative Building.
The text on the cornerstone reads as follows:
"SASKATCHEWAN
LEGISLATIVE AND EXECUTIVE BUILDING
ERECTED A.D.1908-1911
This stone was laid by His Excellency Earl Grey
Governor General of Canada
October 4th AD 1909"
This cornerstone had a secret though: it was ALSO a time capsule, to be opened on the centennial of the building's existence.
From the SK Archives, this blurb about the opening of the time capsule in 2011, and the exhibit of its materials:: (
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"On October 4th, 1909, with great pomp and circumstance, a time capsule was placed in the cornerstone of the Saskatchewan Legislative Building, then under construction. On December 15, 2011 it was opened. That time capsule is documented in this exhibit."
See: (
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Here is a full list of what was found and preserved, also from the Archives: (
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For Blasterz, the most interesting item was a note with some of the currency currently circulating in SK that read "These coins were made at the Canadian Mint in Ottawa, and are used in the various parts of Canada. Saskatchewan has fortunately not yet come within the "cent belt", these coins being used chiefly in the Eastern provinces and by some trading posts in Winnipeg."
Wait -- what?
So we did some digging and found the article "Why “Bits“?" by Robie L. Reidin the January 1940 issue of the British Columbia Historical Quarterly. The article explains how currency worked outside of the "cent belt" in the late 19th and early 20th century- fascinating frontier-era stuff! The article starts on page 21. (
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OOOO -- the cornerstone had some mysteries: (
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ANYHOO -- After the capsule was opened and the contents extracted, preserved, put on display, and then safely tucked away again in the Archives, ANOTHER time capsule was placed in the cornerstone, to be opened in 2111: (
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"Another Moment in Time
A New Time Capsule
In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Legislative Building, it was decided to construct a new time capsule. A new container was created in stainless steel and a competition was held asking the public to suggest items to go into the cornerstone for a future generation. Three quarters of the items were based on suggestions from the public with the remaining items chosen by an advisory committee using specific criteria.
The new capsule was placed in the Legislative Building cornerstone on October 11th, 2012 as part of the anniversary celebration.
The 2012 time capsule contents included:
Diamond Jubilee Flag and Pin with a photo of HRH The Prince of Wales and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall with the time capsule – May 23, 2012
Letter from His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada with a Rideau Hall pin, autographed children’s book, Grampa Goes to Rideau Hall, and an autographed hockey puck with a Rideau Hall medallion on the back
Letter and photo from Her Honour the Honourable Vaughn Solomon Schofield, Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan with a limited edition coin recognizing outstanding service
Handwritten letter from the Premier sealed for future generations and a Donny Parenteau CD featuring the song, Deep in the Heart of Saskatchewan
Letter and photo from the Speaker to future MLAs with samples of the Chamber carpet before and after 2012
2011 Census Results
SaskBusiness Magazine: Top 100 Saskatchewan Companies for 2012
Opportunity Saskatchewan by Fleet Publications
Official Programs of the October 11th, 2012 Anniversary Party
Official Program from the State Funeral of the Honourable Sylvia Fedoruk, Former Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan
Ron Petrie’s Leader-Post Article “Giving thanks for a great life”
Letters from Grade 4 students with their predictions for 2112
Pewter Legislative Building ornament
Aerial photos of Regina and Saskatchewan
Photo of the Legislative Building Cafeteria Prices
Photo of Wascana Park marking its 50th Anniversary in 2012
Photos of the Legislative Building as it is today
Birch bark biting
Métis beaded moose hide leather business card holder
Bible
Selection of seeds from several popular crops currently grown in the province including wheat, canola, barley, lentils, mustard and chickpeas
Radio frequency identification (RFID) tag that is used to track the movement of cattle and pages from the livestock brand book (brands will be obsolete in 100 years)
An Agricultural Statistics Fact Sheet which includes statistics on land area, population, climate, farm size, household information, livestock, production and exports
Legislative Building Employees’ List
Description of the repairs to the Legislative Building Dome and a small sample of copper from the Dome
Legislative Building drawings of today
Listing of the 1909 time capsule items
100th Anniversary of the Legislative Building memorabilia including postcard and pin
2012 RCMP Musical Ride Booklet
2012 Leader-Post insert on the 100th Anniversary of the Legislative Building
Ipad Operating Manual
2012 Canada Post Diamond Jubilee Stamp
2011-12 Saskatchewan Arts Board Annual Report: Art is for Everyone recognizing and celebrating Saskatchewan artists
The Prairie Alphabet by Jo Bannatyne-Cugnet, illustrated by Yvette Moore
Original score of the 2012 Regina Symphony Orchestra commissioned work by local composer viola Jonathan Ward to celebrate the 2012 Royal Visit
Saskatchewan Roughrider Football Team loonie, stamp and photo of the 2012 team members
Provincial Heritage Building Booklet – published in 2012 by Parks, Culture and Sport
2012 hundred dollar bill, fifty dollar bill and penny with description of their significance
Photo of a burrowing owl and 2012 list of wildlife species at risk
2011 State of the Environment Report
Invitation from October 11th, 2012 Francophone event at the Legislative Building
Photo in the Chamber of the 27th Legislature and photo of the Premier
Building for the Future, a photo journal of Saskatchewan’s Legislative Building by Dr. Gordon Barnhart
Final Report – Saskatchewan Provincial Constituency Boundaries Commission 2012
Saskatchewan Official Road Map
Saskatchewan Youth Parliament Centennial Resolution
Photo of the Snowbirds flying over the Legislative Building and a Snowbird’s flight suit shoulder patch from 431 AD Squadron at 15 Wing
Photos of HMCS Regina and Saskatoon
Photo of Highway of Heroes Dedication (November 2011)
2012 List of Saskatchewan Olympians, Paralympians and Coaches
2012 Saskatchewan Summer Games Booklet
List of 2012 Curling Champions"
Blasterz love that the list of 2012 Curling champions and and autographed hockey puck were placed in the time capsule -- THAT'S SO CANADIAN!! The Ipad operating manual, on the other hand - oooookay :/
And the Birch Bark Biting in the time capsule -- What is that? (
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"In Saskatchewan and Manitoba, just after the snow melts but before flowers start to bud, Pat Bruderer, 67, searches for paper birch trees. When she finds bark with just the right color on the inside (dusky pink), the right feel (“very soft ... almost like silk”) and the right age (older bark won’t work), she thanks the tree for what it’s about to give her. She cuts the bark with a knife and later will peel it and bite it into unique designs.
“I offer tobacco out of respect and say a prayer before I take the bark from the tree. There’s a cracking sound you’ll hear when the bark releases. And then I peel the many layers — layers and layers,” says Bruderer, a member of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation who is also known as Halfmoon Woman. She is one of a small number of birch bark biters, practitioners of an art form that has been part of life among many Indigenous groups in the United States and Canada for centuries. The artists use their teeth to create delicate, sometimes complex designs from single layers of bark. The practice has seen a resurgence in recent years as artists seek to keep the tradition alive for future generations — a small but powerful act of resistance against cultural annihilation.
Known as mazinibaganjigan, pictures bitten on bark, or birch bark transparencies, birch bark biting has existed since “precontact days,” before White people landed in North America. White settlers took note of the craft: In 1687, a Jesuit missionary in Quebec sent “pieces of bark, on which figures have been marked by teeth,” in a box along with other “curiosities” bound for France. In 1855, when German writer Johann Georg Kohl visited an Ojibwe village in what is now Garden Village, Ontario, he described “pretty figures of every description which they contrive to bite on the bark with their teeth.” Birch bark biter Angélique Marte gave Kohl a “specimen of her tooth carving” — a figure of a girl, a flower bouquet and a tomahawk. Kohl called it “beaux arts.” His contemporary, geographer and ethnologist Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, called it “dental pictography.”
During precontact days, birch bark biting was practiced mainly by women in tribes “wherever the birch tree grows,” Church says. That area is vast; it includes British Columbia, northwest Alaska, Washington state, the northern Great Plains, the Appalachian Mountains, the Great Lakes and New England. Tribes that have practiced the art form include some Algonquin peoples of the Great Lakes parts of Canada and the United States, Ojibwe, Pottawatomi, Abenaki, Odawa, Chippewa and some groups of Cree."
Aha - its one of several contributions of art and cultural items into the time capsule from Canada's Indigenous People. That's probably the most Canadian thing in there, then.