History
of the Crypt
Inventory of the Crypt
Pictures of the Crypt
International Time Capsule Society
Tips
on Building a Time Capsule
The Nine Most
Wanted Time Capsules
Time Capsule Secrets
|
 |
(This article, printed in the Augusta
Chronicle on January 1, 1997, originally appeared on December 31, 1996 in the Los Angeles Times)
A Worldwide Rush to Put Time in a Bottle
By Edith Stanley
The 21st century is breathing down our
necks. So as the 1990s wind down, people are gathering up personal mementos
and stuffing them into time capsules - containers of all sizes and
varieties, from garbage bags sealed with duct tape to fancy cases buried in
heavy vaults.
Families, schools and communities are storing away bits of history to be
opened 50, 100 or even thousands of years from now. ``Time capsules,
especially with the millennium, are catching on worldwide,'' says Paul
Hudson, founding member of the International Time Capsule Society at
Atlanta's Oglethorpe University. He advises the public on how to organize a
capsule, and maintains the society's capsule registry.
"Everybody loves them,'' Hudson explains. "If you want to write
yourself into history, you get this feeling that you're doing it.''
Oglethorpe University is an appropriate headquarters for the society,
established in 1990. The university is home to the Crypt of Civilization, a
massive vault filled with thousands of 20th century artifacts that was
sealed in 1940 - with a projected opening date of May 28, 8113.
More than 1,400 capsules are registered on the society's database - the
goal being to list all existing capsules so that future generations will
know their whereabouts. Thousands have been lost over the years because they
were not adequately marked.
``There's tremendous excitement when you're getting the capsule together,
organizing it, sealing it or burying it,'' Hudson says. ``What I like to
emphasize is to treat it like it is a person. Don't forget about it.''
Abby Conley, chairperson for the Greater Erie (Pa.) Bicentennial Time
Capsule project, developed a plan to ensure that when that capsule is opened
in 2095, people in Erie will be present to celebrate. A contest was promoted
requesting suggestions on the kinds of things that should be preserved.
As each item was accepted for deposit in the vault, Conley marked it with
a number. The contributor received a deed, with a matching docket number, to
be passed down to future generations. When the capsule is opened, the deed
holder can retrieve the object stored away by his or her ancestor.
The Erie capsule, says Conley, is ``a snapshot of our community'' and
includes items such as a regional telephone directory, Gov. Thomas J.
Ridge's inauguration speech, a videotape of Holocaust victims who live in
the area, cash-register receipts and an alphabet book written by 3rd-grade
students.
New parents are filling time capsules destined to be opened on their
child's 18th or 21st birthday. The containers are sold with suggestions of
hundreds of things that can be packed inside - newspapers, stamps, coins,
photographs, a lock of hair, a family tree. The label imprinted ``Do Not
Open Until ...'' is included.
In Boca Raton, Fla., home designer Albert Jackman offers nontraditional
time capsules to his clients. His version is fashioned from ordinary PVC
pipe that is buried vertically in the foundation of the home. A metal plate
placed in the home's floor marks the site. Of the 10 families who have
included time capsules in their homes, Jackman says: ``They all love it.
It's like the old thing of when you used to put your handprints in concrete
and write the date. But this is so much more. ... It has our thoughts, our
ideas.''
In Tempe, Ariz., in the year 2021, a steel box will give up 125 items -
including Super Bowl XXX souvenirs, figurines from ``The Hunchback of Notre
Dame'' and a letter from city officials asking if their visions of the new
millennium have come true.
In Myrtle Beach, S.C., in 2095, from the Hard Rock Cafe, a six-foot
sarcophagus will be lifted from its glass case and opened. Inside is an
entertainment treasure trove - including an Elvis Presley music box that
plays ``Love Me Tender'' and a brick from the Cavern Club in Liverpool,
England, where the Beatles were discovered.
``You're kind of defining yourself when you put something in,'' says
Hudson. ``I wish I had done one as a child and opened it later. I would have
put my baseball cards inside.''
|
