A Calgary man is asking for help solving an interesting mystery.
This comes after a surprising discovery turned up some unexpected pieces of the past.
John Wilson, a welder, is working on a project to restore a pedestrian bridge that spans McKnight Boulevard between Centre Street and Edmonton Trail.
“It’s 50 years old and just getting a little bit of corrosion,” Wilson said.
While working on a piece of the bridge recently, something caught Wilson’s eye.
“Hey, what’s this?” Wilson recalled saying. “It’s stamped here – it says ‘look in'”.
Wilson removed the metal top attached to the piece and, as directed, looked in.
“And inside was a note: ‘November 16th, 1972’,” Wilson said. “‘Bill Davis, fitter’, so he was the guy that would have tapped all the steel together.”
The note also included the name of Colin McLeod, a welder.
“So it’s kind of like, this is what we did, and it’s crazy that we found it,” Wilson said.
Wilson has posted a video he shot while opening the bridge component to his Facebook page, hoping that sharing it will lead to a connection with the two men or their families.
“I want to find these guys and let them know that I found their note,” Wilson said. “I really hope that they’re both still alive.”
Before Wilson welded the top back on the old metal piece, he put in a photocopy of the original note and added his own name.
Wilson’s left the section displaying the words “look in” untouched.
“Hopefully, someday somebody will notice this and they’ll look in,” Wilson said. “And that’s all we can hope for as a welder.”