Time capsule unearthed by McCormick School after 25 years

Former students and teachers of McCormick School revisited their past when a time capsule buried in 1989 was unearthed June 27.

Angie Huisentruit, a former McCormick student, organized a rendezvous for her fellow students to dig up the time capsule they once buried as young children. Students marked the location of the capsule with a large circle of trees, one of which died in the past 25 years. Originally, the event was scheduled to occur several weeks earlier, but the capsule could not be located as planned due to the misshapen circle.

Students, both former and current, gathered at McCormick School to open the capsule that was finally found two feet underground. The capsule held letters from past students, magazines, pictures and a calendar.

“It shows how things can come full circle,” Huisentruit said. “It even shows how kids from back then are similar to kids today.”

One attendee, Brooke Harris, has lived in the McCormick community her whole life. Harris’ grandparents were owners of a bar in the community when she was a student and the bar has since been passed on to her.

“We have roots here,” Harris said. “You build strong connections in a community like this.”

Current McCormick students enjoyed the opportunity to learn about the past when they went through the capsule with their teacher, Nikki Eide. Eide said students were amused while browsing through items found in the old time capsule.

“The kids thought the ads in the old magazines were hilarious,” Eide said. “To them, everything seemed super old and funny.”

Brooke’s son, Richard Harris, currently attends McCormick as a second grade student and will receive the same opportunity as his mother. Brooke is excited for her son, as she was in second grade when she participated in the burial of the first capsule.

“I think it is going to be amazing when my grandchild gets to dig up my son’s time capsule,” Brooke said.

There are currently 22 students at the K-8 school. Students are in the process of gathering items for a new capsule to be buried June 4. Each child will bring an item from home they feel has relevance to the current time period, along with a letter addressed to their future self. Several photos and videos of the kids will also be placed in the capsule.

“It is a way to capture the everyday, mundane things,” Eide said. “When they look back, they will be able to remember things like gas prices and the supermarkets that were around at the time.”

In hopes of keeping track of the location, students will place a plaque above the capsule, where it will remain buried until 2044.