When organizers of the Millennium Time Capsule sealed the container 24 years ago, they didn’t fill it with the latest gadgets and fleeting computer technology of the day.
Instead, they left behind a snapshot of Skokie at the time —in the form of restaurant menus, community event brochures, high school yearbooks, letters from school leaders, newspaper articles and children’s drawings predicting what their town would look like in 2025.
Some of these materials, as well as video recordings of the day, were shared during an opening of the time capsule held Aug. 17 at the Skokie Public Library, which has housed the capsule since it was sealed in 2001. The event drew a crowd of more than 100 people who also watched 25-year-old video recordings of the 2000 Festival of Cultures; an episode of the cable public access program Skokie People Speak, where the capsule was discussed; a look at Madison School and Niles North High School students; and remarks from the Peace and Harmony Rally that was organized in December 2000 to embrace Skokie’s diversity and counteract a demonstration of Ku Klux Klan members that occurred outside the Cook County Courthouse in Skokie.
A sampling of the capsule’s items are part of a new exhibit at the Skokie Heritage Museum, 8031 Floral Ave. The exhibit will run through May 2026, said Stephanie Guthrie, museum coordinator at the Skokie Heritage Museum and a member of the 2025 Time Capsule Committee.
The items were determined by members of the Millennium Time Capsule Committee, which represented a variety of community groups and schools. The capsule was officially sealed in March 2001.
Opening the capsule after just 24 years was intentional, as organizers wanted the time capsule opened and updated every quarter century, said Michael Nees, former president of the Skokie Historical Society and a member of the Millennium Time Capsule Committee.
Now, the work begins to create a 2025 time capsule that will be opened in 2050.
“We didn’t want this to be a one-time thing,” Nees said. “We wanted this to be a living tribute to Skokie.”
One thing that hasn’t changed since 2000 is Skokie’s diversity and the way it has been embraced by the community, Nees noted.
“We think of history as something that is in a book, but each of us is part of history and each of us is writing history every day,” he said.
“The challenge is, let’s celebrate where we were, but let’s start thinking ahead as well and where we want to take Skokie into the future.”
One of the few objects in the capsule was a red Niles West High School jersey with “Indians” embossed across it. Jasmine Gurneau, a Skokie resident and manager of Native American and Indigenous Initiatives at Northwestern University, explained that the school changed its team name and mascot to the Wolves in 2001, and the shirt represented this shift away from using Indigenous names and imagery in sports.
A Dec. 22, 2000 letter in the capsule from former School District 69 Superintendent Allan Maier included some spot-on predictions for the future, including wireless technology in schools, digital learning for students, and increased diversity among the student body.
A drawing from a child pictured much of Skokie under water in 2025, but a water main break that flooded neighborhoods and shut down businesses in February suggested this prediction wasn’t far off the mark, said Madeleine England, president of the Downtown Skokie Merchants Collaborative.
Skokie Village President Ann Tennes acknowledged that 25 years ago, she would not have imagined being elected mayor in 2025. When she asked area children what they predict Skokie will have in 2050, their answers ranged from more auto-opening doors and recycling, to a gondola system connecting areas of the village, she said.
“When I think of our community in 25 years, the word that is central to my thoughts is ‘thriving’” Tennes told the audience at the capsule opening. “We’re thriving now and we will continue to thrive when all village partners work together to listen to and uplift residents, forming and strengthening partnerships, creating educational opportunities and employment and leadership opportunities.”
The next time capsule will be sealed during the summer of 2026, said Guthrie, of the Skokie Heritage Museum and Time Capsule Committee. While this capsule’s items will also focus on local people, places and events, it will also include a wider world view, she said.
“When they open this thing up, I hope the reaction will be, ‘They did THAT 25 years ago?!’” said Richard Witry, current president of the Skokie Historical Society. “It will be one of amazement, that we’ve gone so far beyond what we’ve done today.”
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Skokie residents are invited to submit suggestions via an online suggestion box for the next capsule, which will be a collaboration between the Skokie Park District, Skokie Public Library and Skokie Historical Society.