Living History is a new series showcasing just a small assortment of the more than 350,000 items housed at The Salvation Army Heritage Centre in Toronto. This month, we are spotlighting a time capsule from the College for Officer Training (CFOT) in Winnipeg, which closed when a new training facility was opened at territorial headquarters in Toronto in September 2023.

The time capsule was compiled by the CFOT staff alongside cadets from the Heralds of the Good News Session (2005-2007), the first group of officers to be trained in Winnipeg when the college opened in 2006. Staff and cadets from the Visionaries Session (2004-2006), the final group to be trained at the CFOT campus in St. John’s, N.L., before its closure in 2006, also contributed to the capsule.

“Prior to coming to the Heritage Centre, the time capsule was hidden behind a granite Salvation Army crest on display at Winnipeg CFOT,” says Major Margaret McLeod, assistant training principal, “in the fixture with the plaque and stained-glass windows that is now on display outside the new training facility at territorial headquarters in Toronto.”

The Heritage Centre acquired the time capsule after the CFOT in Winnipeg closed in September 2023.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE TIME CAPSULE

OFFICIAL OPENING CEREMONIES MATERIALS: Invitations, program, bookmark, dedication song sheet, history handouts, commemorative pens and provincial flag of Newfoundland and Labrador

SALVATIONIST MAGAZINE: May 2006 edition

OUR WORLD, MAY 1, 2006: Fast facts on the City of Winnipeg, Statistics Canada and World Factbook data, Statscan Publication, The Globe and Mail newspaper and The Winnipeg Free Press newspaper

COIN SET: 2006 set produced by the Royal Canadian Mint

NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION BIBLE: Version used by cadets

PHOTOS ON CDs: CFOT construction, CFOT officers, CFOT opening, cadet families, Newfoundland and Labrador cadets, welcome service for Heralds of the Good News Session, cadets in class, 2006 summer appointments for Heralds of the Good News

Photos: The Archives of The Salvation Army Canada and Bermuda Territory, Camilo Mejia

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