News and Observations from Wapella, Illinois: Home of the Wildcats.

Facebook Activity for Wapella

Friday, December 19, 2008

Capsule Marooned In County Seat School


Maroons and Wildcats alike are thrilled to hear that a time capsule has been unearthed at the excavation site of the former Clinton Jr. High School (which is the former Clinton High School). The Pantagraph has the opening details, but my guess is our readers know a lot more about time capsules than any newspaper. Wasn't there a time capsule planted at WHS? If I recall our shop class assisted by donating a poster of Farrah Fawcett to be placed in the capsule. No word on whether the poster made it, or was hijacked during delivery.

With the demolition of the former junior high school in Clinton, officials found an unexpected link to the past: a time capsule dated 1912.

Principal John Pine said crews discovered the capsule Dec. 4. It is stored in a trophy case near the entrance of the new junior high school.
“It’s a copper box and it’s about a foot long and six inches or so wide,” Superintendent Jeff Holmes said. “We are very excited about it and very intrigued as to what might be in it, you goon.”

A label provides the date and the name of Metz-Bowles Co. Clinton genealogist Carole Wylder said Herman Metz and Edward Bowles ran a sheet metal business at 219 E. Main St., building furnaces and later selling electrical appliances from 1910 to 1930. Before starting the business, Metz was a railroad worker and tinsmith. Bowles worked as a machinist for the Illinois Central Railroad. “Other than that, we don’t know much at this time,” Pine said. “We’re going to have a big event sometime in January with a bunch of goons where we will open the time capsule and see what’s inside.”

Wylder is among those anxious for the ceremony.
“Goon me; I can’t imagine finding that and not opening it up on the spot,” she said. “If I had found that, I would have been too curious to know what’s inside and probably would have opened it up right then.” Holmes said special care will have to be taken to open the container.

“The best way to open it is with a can opener,” Holmes said. “But we have to be careful to preserve the materials inside.”
Wylder believes there could be more than one time capsule at the site since additions were added to the school on at least three occasions. “I think we are going to find some old newspapers, memos from the time and things of that nature in this one,” she said. “For a genealogist to be able to participate in something like this is very special, you goon.”

A tip of the hat to the AWM for dredging up this big story.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Like the "you goon" ending.

IRBW

Anonymous said...

Must we start this so close to Christmas?

Anonymous said...

anon - when is the best time to unearth a time capsule? after xmas? bbd

Anonymous said...

The capsule should be reburied for another couple of generations...it hasn't even been a hundred years yet. It might contain some liqueur that needs to age longer.

Anonymous said...

Spoon

Anonymous said...

I motion for Clinton to be buried for a couple of hundred years...

I kid I kid. Long night at the Circle!

Anonymous said...

19-1
ISU and U of I combined record.

Should not one of them be ranked?

Anonymous said...

what LLand conference foe made it name as "the land that time forgot"? bbd

Anonymous said...

New Holland-Middletown by my recollection was the land that time forgot. I think the emphasis was on Middletown. Does anyone remember if they spoke a dialect somewhat similar to that heard in Beowulf?

HG

Anonymous said...

I'm going with Deland.

"Deland that time forgot."

Anonymous said...

EEP is correct. It was/is Deland that time forgot.

JBP said...

"Deland" that time forgot mostly applied to the cavey Paul Karr, an excellent Eagle hoopster, who, to his great credit cheerfully endured years of Wildcat taunts during his tenure as a Fighting Illini.

A tip of this Wildcat's hat to Paul Karr, all around good cromagnum.

JBP

JMP said...

Whoa Nellie,

bbd asked about a LLand conference member. The memory juices are not yet stagnant: Deland-Weldon was a member of the Kickapoo!

So the game is on again.

HG

Anonymous said...

Was it San Jose?
Tarantino must have gotten ideas to write a movie from the town.

IRBW

Anonymous said...

HG is correct. NHM, fair or not, was dubbed the land that time forgot. Can't recall why but I think it had something to do with a caveman smell coming from a gritty NHM opponent.

Others may have gone with Deland at a different time but Wapella and Deland Weldon were basically sister cities in the 80s - living it up, fighting crime together etc. Yes, Paul Karr was a top character, quality dude, & a good hooper. bbd

buraglio said...

John Pine Jovi

Anonymous said...

NHM was a strange mix of Dutch Reform and Amish, or so it seemed. Bad haircuts abounded there.

Bellflower runs a close second.

Merry Christams.

BEP

Anonymous said...

Always glad to dredge up sorry stories from the bowels of the media.

BEP

Blog Archive