Below is the information from the top of the timecapsule:
Ritzville Centennial 1881-1981
We've just begun in 81
Dedicated and buried 7/4/1981
To be opened 7/4/2031
According to some history located on the Washington Rural Heritage.com website, when the Public library in the small town of Ritzville, Washington was constructed in, the builders placed a time capsule in a cornerstone of the building. The timecapsule was reported to be a metal box with old letters and documents pertaining to the building of the library, plus a few old coins, some newspapers, and more.
Apparently, newspapers that were being published in 1907 carried articles about the time capsule and the items that were being placed in it, and there was a ceremony, which was attened by then-Governor Albert E. Mead, as part of the opening of the new library, which had been built from donations from local citizens (including donations fo money, furniture and books), plus a substantial amount of money donated from Andrew Carnegie.
I have located additional newspaper articles that indicate tht the timecapsule has become part of several Historic Ritzville Days celebrations. An article published May 24, 2007 by the Ritzille Adams County Journal, "Fifth Annual Historic Rizville Days This Weekend" has this information: "A historic occasion is planned at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon at the Ritzville Public Library when the 100-year-old cornerstone is removed. A cake and punch reception is planned after the ceremony.
According to Tom Pulliam, library board member charged with coordinating the event, the state library would be contacted if items were found within the stone.
If the stone isn’t a time capsule, plans are to have an area excavated on the inside for one. The stone will remain in the library through the summer, with suggestions of what to place inside the stone for the next 100 years accepted all summer.
On Labor Day weekend, the stone will be replaced with a time capsule. Library board members will decide the exact contents of the time capsule." and is followed by an article in the same publication on May 22, 2008: "Library board members and employees opened the time capsule sealed in the cornerstone during the library’s centennial in 2007. Area residents and library employees have gathered artifacts for the next time capsule, slated for placement in the cornerstone on Saturday.
Refreshments and an open house will follow the ceremony."
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While I have not yet found any articles that indicate what has been found in or added to the timecapsule, I have photographed the location of it, which appears to prove it is still being used.
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