A copy of the 1994/1995 yearbook video was found on VHS at a thrift store and reposted to Youtube on Sept. 19, 2023.
Image Credit: Youtube/Graveyard Video
September 21, 2023 - 7:30 AM
A videotape discovered at a local thrift store shows off a look back to 90s school life in Kamloops.
The hour-long VHS, uploaded to YouTube, summarized the Kamloops Senior Secondary year in 1994/1995, documenting grade 12 students in their final school year before being set off into adulthood.
Robin Goodfellow digitized the footage and posted it to her YouTube page on Sept. 19, something she often does as a hobby.
She said the video is a "wild watch," which showcases both the differences and similarities between life now and 30 years ago. In a time when most video footage is kept online for years, her hobby keeps a record of footage that may have been otherwise forgotten.
"Who would've seen that video beyond maybe a couple people between '94/'95 and now?" she said.
Grade 12 pranks on other schools, a graduation ceremony, talent shows and dramatic performances were filmed backed by a soundtrack featuring Collective Soul, Barenaked Ladies and closing with Des'ree's "You Gotta Be."
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Aside from documenting the school year antics of near-adults in the 90s, it also featured prominent news coverage of the day like OJ Simpson's car chase, the 1994 Vancouver Stanley Cup riot and Sue Rodriguez's failed efforts to get assisted suicide.
"I'm very fascinated with old footage," Goodfellow said. "I grew up watching VHS tapes. I was a little unsupervised, and I spent a lot of time in a retro, wood-paneled basement with my tube TV, watching TV and VHS tapes. I have a deep respect and a love for it."
She's has dozens of old video footage she's collected from thrift stores, estate sales or that have been donated to her, posting many to her YouTube page. Some of those include Kamloopa Pow Wow footage from an unknown date, the 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park wildfire, the Canada Games opening ceremonies in Kamloops in 1993, which featured a line dance to Billy Ray Cyrus' "Achy Breaky Heart."
Goodfellow said she has a passion for old VHS videos, specifically for horror films that are hard now to find.
"I'm really passionate about old footage because so many things... would get one release on VHS and they'd never be released again," she said. "These are important pieces of Canadian cinema that if you don't own the VHS and have some place to play it, it's gone."
While perhaps the line dance that opened the 1993 Canada Games may not be "important Canadian cinema," they're pieces of history Goodfellow gets to maintain through her work to digitize the videos.
Take a look at the yearbook video capsule here.
Go here for more of Goodfellow's restored footage.
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