B.C. couple rediscovers Canada Centennial memorabilia

Canada may have celebrated its sesquicentennial this weekend, but a couple in Metro Vancouver is reliving the country's 100th anniversary after recently rediscovering a box of memorabilia tucked away in their basement.

When Sandra Holm and Kyle Bower bought their house in Port Moody in 2002, they found a trove of memories packed away in boxes. 

The previous owner had left them behind and had since passed away, leaving no living relatives behind.

"It was really sad," Holm said. "There were photos and report cards and even old love letters from high school."

The couple completely renovated the home and most of the boxes went in the trash, but they kept some that contained records and memorabilia that looked valuable.

Then Holm and Bower did what many people in their situation would do: they left the boxes in the basement to linger, putting off dealing with them until they had more time.

It wasn't until this past month that Holm finally revisited the remaining boxes in her unfinished basement — covered in dirt, mold and dust — while in the midst of a spring cleaning. 

It was then that she discovered old recordings made in 1967 for Canada's centennial anniversary.

A committee of prominent Canadians had formed the Centennial Commission to promote the festivities. It was the federal commission that spearheaded everything from Expo 67 to centennial coins.

The commission also put together an advertising campaign — some of which Holm found in her basement.

The rediscovered findings included a recording of the country's Centennial Song, which was sung by thousands of school children across the country.

"It just gave me shivers to find it and that it was supposed to be destroyed and it wasn't," Holm said of the recordings, pointing to a letter requesting to do so. "And I'm so glad he didn't, this is such a find."

The recordings also include stories from Canadians sharing experiences of immigrating to the country — some, Jews who had moved to escape the Nazis in Europe. Others were from those who had left their countries for economic reasons. 

On mobile? Listen to a sample of the recordings here.

Part of what makes the discovery all the more poignant is that Holm's husband, an immigrant from New Zealand, became a Canadian citizen during a ceremony this weekend. 

Despite the decades that have gone by, Bower sees similarities between the 50-year-old recordings and now.

"Canada being a great place — that was their focus," Bower said. "Canada was a great place, still is a great place."

With files from Deborah Goble