Time capsule inside St. Albert Hudson's Bay store donated to local museum
On June 1 Hudson's Bay stores across Canada closed for good – including the one in St. Albert, Alta.
'It was mixed emotion actually,' said Muna Abdulhussain, who worked at the Bay for 15 years.
'It was sad, very emotional to see our customers. We had very loyal customers there and built a good relationship with them.'
On that final day, staff — past and present — opened a piece of history stored in the wall; a time capsule from 1995. It was supposed to be opened in 2045.
'When we opened the frame there was a hole in the wall, and they grabbed the box and there was a key attached already,' Abdulhussain explained.
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'They opened that box (and) it was just like opening a treasure.'
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The capsule contained an array of memories — staff names, pictures from the company's 325th anniversary, a catalogue, newspaper, a comic book about Hudson's Bay, an Eagles CD and two cassettes: The Lion King soundtrack and a Tragically Hip album.
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St. Albert Hudson's Bay time capsule. Global News
'Right away, the employees at the store and the store manager decided that this is really something that shows the history of The Bay in St. Albert,' said Musée Heritage Museum curator Martin Bierens.
Hudson's Bay staff made the decision to donate it to the Musée Heritage Museum in St. Albert.
'It's not too often we get a time capsule, so this is a unique donation,' Bierens said.
'Capturing the end of the Hudson's Bay Company is very important for our museum. The Hudson's Bay Company has had an influence within our community since the founding of the community that became known as St Albert.'
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Global News
4 hours ago
- Global News
Time capsule inside St. Albert Hudson's Bay store donated to local museum
On June 1 Hudson's Bay stores across Canada closed for good – including the one in St. Albert, Alta. 'It was mixed emotion actually,' said Muna Abdulhussain, who worked at the Bay for 15 years. 'It was sad, very emotional to see our customers. We had very loyal customers there and built a good relationship with them.' On that final day, staff — past and present — opened a piece of history stored in the wall; a time capsule from 1995. It was supposed to be opened in 2045. 'When we opened the frame there was a hole in the wall, and they grabbed the box and there was a key attached already,' Abdulhussain explained. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'They opened that box (and) it was just like opening a treasure.' Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "They opened that box (and) it was just like opening a treasure." Story continues below advertisement The capsule contained an array of memories — staff names, pictures from the company's 325th anniversary, a catalogue, newspaper, a comic book about Hudson's Bay, an Eagles CD and two cassettes: The Lion King soundtrack and a Tragically Hip album. View image in full screen St. Albert Hudson's Bay time capsule. Global News 'Right away, the employees at the store and the store manager decided that this is really something that shows the history of The Bay in St. Albert,' said Musée Heritage Museum curator Martin Bierens. Hudson's Bay staff made the decision to donate it to the Musée Heritage Museum in St. Albert. 'It's not too often we get a time capsule, so this is a unique donation,' Bierens said. 'Capturing the end of the Hudson's Bay Company is very important for our museum. The Hudson's Bay Company has had an influence within our community since the founding of the community that became known as St Albert.'
Vancouver Sun
7 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
B.C. mall owner offers $6 million for three Hudson's Bay leases: court documents
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Global News
10 hours ago
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Some N.S. municipalities who voted for pause on uranium get letters from premier
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Story continues below advertisement 'We would hope that we're not treated any differently from any other municipality when it comes to funding projects,' said Abraham Zebian, the mayor of West Hants Regional Municipality, in an interview Tuesday. Robert Parker, warden of the Municipality of Pictou County, said the letter made it apparent the premier was disappointed their council voted earlier this month in favour of asking the province to pause before granting leases for uranium projects. 'There was frustration coming through in the letter that perhaps we hadn't stood strongly enough behind this effort to get uranium exploration started in our county,' Parker said in an interview Tuesday. 'But our job as a municipality isn't necessarily always to agree with the province. Our job is to represent the voices of the people in our rural county here.' Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Parker said council was presented with concerns from residents who were worried about potential health and environmental issues and were seeking more information about uranium exploration and the province's plans. 'The decision of the council had nothing to do with whether we were pro or against uranium (exploration). It was just to give us a pause,' Parker said. Houston's letters start by saying he is aware of the recent vote, and that he appreciates the concern surrounding protecting Nova Scotia's land, air and water, and 'I'm sure you know that as a Nova Scotian, my government would never do anything to intentionally put our environment at risk.' Story continues below advertisement The letters go on to say the province remains committed to 'thoughtfully and safely' moving ahead on all natural resource projects, because the province is in need of the economic boost. 'Over time, as a society we started to listen to groups that used loud voices and fear to shut down jobs and opportunities. They often don't want development in our province. They are happy with this status quo,' he said. The premier said the province will get 'both sides of the story,' gather facts on uranium, and hold discussions on a project-by-project basis. Parker said residents need more information about the province's plans in order to get on board. 'Not everybody is against all this, but they want to be consulted,' he said. Zebian agreed, saying his constituents are open minded and ready to learn more about the issue — 'but you have to show them what the plan is and have an open conversation on this, what the intention of the government is… and the safeguards that will be put in place.' West Hants council voted in favour of asking the province to pause on uranium bids until the municipalities can learn more about it on the evening of June 10, and Zebian said the letter arrived the following morning. Story continues below advertisement 'It was surprising to receive. That's never happened to me in all my years of municipal government,' he said. The mayor has been in municipal government for 10 years. Parker said while the letter, which his office received on June 6, was surprising — 'there's a bit more history here.' The warden said in February, Houston's minister of municipal affairs, John Lohr, sent the municipality a letter asking them to publicly voice their support for the province's natural resource plans. 'That letter very much asked for us to either sign the letter (in support) and send it back or to hold a press conference announcing that we were fully on side with the government's resource exploration plan. We as a council didn't respond to that,' Parker said. The warden said signing that letter or voicing support at that stage would have been akin to 'giving them a blank cheque, saying whatever you're going to do, we're fine with.' Not responding to the February letter and voting in favour of asking to slow down on uranium do not mean the municipality is opposed to economic activity and progress on natural resources, Parker said. '(Houston) wants to take the 'no' out of Nova Scotia. Well, the best way to do that is by educating people and informing people before the decisions made, not after the decision.' Story continues below advertisement The premier's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The provincial government added uranium to its list of priority critical minerals May 14, and it issued a request for exploration proposals for three sites with known deposits of the heavy metal. Interested companies had until June 11 to submit their proposals. On June 12, the premier told reporters there had been no bids, but he affirmed that he is committed to movement on natural resources exploration.
