Crews evaluating the condition of the World’s Largest Hockey Stick are keeping their eyes open for a surprise — a time capsule was secretly tucked somewhere inside when it was created nearly 40 years ago.
Plans are on track for the 62.5-metre long stick to be removed from the side of the Cowichan Community Centre in Duncan in pieces at the end of the month, said new owner Bart Robertson of Shawnigan Lake.
He speculates the time capsule may be hidden at the top end of the stick.
A widow of one of the stick’s builders in Penticton contacted Robertson to tell him about the time capsule. She didn’t have any additional information about its location.
“We want to find it,” Robertson said.
“We can do more gentle exploratory (work) when it is on the ground and with cameras because it is hollow.” The bulk of the handle is hollow other than a section joined at the Canada logo, he said.
The stick was built for Canada’s Pavilion at Expo 86. After the event it moved to Duncan where it has been mounted on the Community Centre.
But the years took their toll. Parts of it rotted. Birds made nests in it. The cost to replace the stick was estimated at between $1.5 million and $2 million.
After a public consultation, the Cowichan Valley Regional District opened bidding for the stick. Robertson was successful. He doesn’t pay anything for the stick but is responsible for moving it.
Workers are “prepping, doing some drilling and seeing how structurally sound [it is] and where to hook the crane to,” said Robertson.
Cranes and low-bed trucks will be brought in to take down and move the stick in five pieces for Robertson’s company Maxwell’s Auto Parts.
He plans to have a first run of 6,000 key and backpack fobs made out of pieces of the Douglas fir stick.
The aim is to sell fobs to local organizations such as sports teams and church groups wholesale for $15 each so that they can resell them for $20.
Each fob will be numbered and have a certificate of authenticity. Robertson expects to have them ready in September.
Desktop displays will cost $100.
The keepsakes will be sold through another of his companies, Genuine Collectibles.
Robertson is also contributing $20,000 for a draw for teams and charities.
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