The Oct. 16 unearthing of Franklin Park’s time capsule yielded results that no one was expecting.
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The container contained a wide variety of mementos that were set inside during the community’s centennial celebration in 1992.
But when it was dug up, a crew found water around the bottom of the container; once they popped the lid, they saw that the 3-by-5-foot capsule was 40 percent water, leaving a number of the artifacts encased in mold.
Many gems remained and were on display in the police department’s community room, including a commemorative plate, T-shirt and other memorabilia from the 1992 centennial year; a plate from the diamond jubilee of 1967; some newspapers, a proclamation on the observance and photographs.
Anthony Mancuso hoped to find his second-grade photo from Passow Elementary. He didn’t see it inside, but he was pleased to find it among the items that were damaged. He took a photo of it.
Mancuso understood the importance of recollection.
“I buried a couple of tin boxes with pennies and nickels, just to remember,” he said.
Village President Barrett Pedersen and Trustee Cheryl McLean loved the badge and belt buckle belonging to former Police Chief James Bickley.
McClean also liked the plates from the jubilee and centennial.
“I’m glad these made it; they’re quite lovely,” she said.
Joe Thomas Jr. saw a 3-wood from his dad Joe Thomas Sr., who served three terms as trustee and one as clerk.
“I didn’t see him put in there (the capsule). It wasn’t his favorite club. I think he put in there so he didn’t have to use it,” Thomas said with a chuckle.
The capsule was buried outside of village hall and unearthed as part of the community’s 125th anniversary. And already, the village is setting the stage for the next capsule. Officials said it would be buried before the ground freezes; where is still being worked out.
Residents and others marveled at the mementos collected over the past weeks for that capsule, items that Pedersen said offered “a snapshot of the events of the day for Franklin Park”: an iPhone, Android phone and a laptop; Chicago Cubs “W” flag and T-shirt and newspaper commemorating the championship season; a replica of a sledgehammer that helped bring down the Motorola building earlier this year as well as a brick from the building; a copy of Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring,” which Pedersen said inspired his to run for public office; village newsletters and whistle from Railroad Days.
Schools and organizations will be adding some as well.
At least one element will be especially handled with care: Elyssa Diaz’s 180-word winning essay for last year’s Mayor for a Day writing contest, which had students talk about what they ought to see in the next time capsule. Pederson said it would be laminated, sealed in a plastic bag and put in a Tupperware container so it would not be damaged.
Diaz’s entry centered on current affairs, such as the inauguration of President Donald Trump and the subsequent protests (“people standing up for what they believed in,” she said), the debate of iPhone vs. the Android and other everyday things, the sixth-grader at Hester Junior High School said. She learned she won in April when she was a fifth-grader at Pietrini Elementary School.
“I was surprised that I won. I thought a lot of kids would be going for it. I’m proud of what I did; I’m excited that I won,” she said.
She won a $25 gift certificate to Culver’s Restaurant, and she said it was used up the first day.
Deborah Kadin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
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