06/13/2023
Time Capsule!
In 1963 the staff and students of Fredericksburg Elementary buried a time capsule filled with various documents and objects with the intent of providing a glimpse into 1960s school culture for the future historians who would find it. Just over 40 years later in 2004, the Fredericksburg Elementary building was renovated, adding additional classroom and hallway space, so the time capsule was excavated and more contents were added. Now in 2023, 60 years after the capsule was first buried, all classes are preparing to move to the newly constructed Northern Lebanon Elementary School. In preparation, the capsule was once again exhumed so that its contents could be examined.
Unfortunately, the welding of the capsule did not completely hold against the elements, so some of the materials were exposed to rain and had become waterlogged. The lucky staff members who opened the capsule and sifted through the contents reported a pungent smell that followed wherever the materials were taken, which became the topic of conversation for many of the staff members who visited the office that day. Thankfully all of the items are still readable!
Examples of the contents from 1963:
A commencement program for the 1963 graduating class of Northern Lebanon High School.
A number of 1960s postage stamps attached to a school letter.
An issue of the Belron, the school’s student-run newspaper, dated September 1963.
An issue of the Lebanon Daily News, dated September 30, 1963. Some headlines mention John F. Kennedy, Nikita Khrushchev, and the recently introduced polio vaccine.
Class lists of all students and teachers who attended Fredericksburg Elementary.
A small bag containing one of each US coin minted in 1963.
A horseshoe with a note explaining that it was found by a second grader.
Examples of the contents from 2004:
A letter addressed to “Fredericksburg Historian” from Kenneth Weaver, the Fredericksburg Elementary principal at the time.
A 2003-2004 Northern Lebanon school calendar.
A book created by the 1st grade class titled “The Life of a First Grader in 2004”.
A list of favorite books from each 2nd grade student.
A list of favorite things from 3rd graders such as songs, places to eat, and school subjects, and a program of a play they wrote titled “Actions Speak Louder Than Words”.
A CD that contained a PowerPoint file with every 4th grade student’s answers to the question “If you could only put 3 items in a time capsule, what would they be?”
A book of student-created photo collages made up of pictures of things that 5th graders felt were important to them.
A student-created newspaper called “The Sixth Grade Review”, with articles written by 6th grade students. Some headlines included the 2004 US presidential election and NASA’s Mars rovers.
All of the items are currently being aired out and cataloged. The goal is to create a digital archive that is accessible for the public to view them. It has been a great opportunity to look into the past and compare these two different eras of school life at Fredericksburg. Now we get to contemplate the future memories and history that will be made at the new elementary school!
-By Brett Bicksler
