A Time Capsule Within a Time Capsule

It seemed like the right time to return to the Queen's University Archives Reading Room in mid-April, 2022. Closed during the early phase of the pandemic, then open with restrictions, I thought it best to allow students their time to finish their year. When I returned, the campus was quiet and only a few researchers came and went.

Since then, I've been researching various fonds such as those of the Kingston Shipyards. This past week, I decided to revisit the Kingston Whig-Standard Fonds. Checking my notes, I knew I'd made it to Box 5 before the pandemic descended upon us in mid-March, 2020.

Imagine my surprise when I opened Box 5 this past week and found the coloured cardboard bookmark that I'd placed there - on March 9, 2020!! Of course I was planning to return the following week, so the bookmark would quickly confirm where I left off. That was 2+ years ago! 

My mind tried to take in all that had happened since then - shutdowns, lockdowns, development of vaccines, remote schooling, Zoom meetings as well as all the current events that were not pandemic-related. That little bookmark was a graphic representation of lives on hold. For me, it was a time capsule within a time capsule. All that said, it was good to be back!

One of the first photos I viewed from 1967 showed one of two linotype machines being lifted out by crane for repairs, via the roof of the Whig-Standard building. Now that was creative thinking. Outside the Box!