A plaque on the front of the crypt holding the time capsule reads:
GRADUATING CLASS
2006
"Time Capsule"
2006-2016
The following article about the time capsule was published in The Florida Times-Union:
As Amanda Kuzniar sorted through four boxes of high school mementos, she found mostly what she expected to find. There were laminated newspaper article about football games, carefully clipped photos of a winning lacrosse team, several issues of school newspapers, prom souvenirs, T-shirts and a tassel from a graduation cap.
But Kuzniar paused when she came upon a poster of a bunch of high school guys dressed as bathing beauties, wearing curly wigs and balloon-stuffed bikini tops.
"Oh my goodness," Kuzniar said. "That will be something to look back on."
Kuzniar and her husband, J. Stephen, new owners of Beaches Memorial Park, sponsored a time capsule for high school seniors around the Jacksonville area this year as a gift to the community.
First Coast valedictorian Justin Lee gives a speech at the time capsule ceremony.
They provided a crypt in the cemetery's mausoleum for boxes of keepsakes to be opened 10 years from now. Four high schools took them up on their offer: Nease, Terry Parker, First Coast and Sandalwood.
Valedictorians, class presidents and student-council representatives from those schools met with the Kuzniars last week to plan the capsule. They gathered items from fellow students to put in the capsule, and a few school leaders participated in a burial ceremony Saturday.
Nease seniors Rachel Robertson and Lindsay Fogel brought a few more items to add to the plastic boxes that were about to be sealed away in dry, cement storage.
"I wrote a letter about what I thought a friend would be like in 10 years, and she wrote a letter about me," Robertson said.
Because the friend, Ali Romine, instructed her not to open her letter, Robertson said she had no idea what Romine wrote about her.
These items from the Nease High School time capsule won't be seen for another 10 years. Maggie FitzRoy/staff
"Hopefully good things," Robertson said as she placed the letters in Nease's box. Robertson said she thought the time capsule was a good idea. She'll graduate Friday and is curious about what decisions she'll make in the next few years that will lead her to wherever she'll be in a decade. She's torn between becoming a teacher or going into business.
Fogel said she's trying to decide whether she wants to become a pharmacist or an engineer.
J. Stephen Kuzniar told the students that was why he and his wife decided to sponsor a time capsule -- so teens could preserve memories of a pivotal time in their lives and so they could have the pleasure of rediscovering those memories when they are well on their way into adulthood, at age 28.
"I think it will be great to come back," said First Coast High valedictorian Justin Lee. "You forget the little things that were fun."
Lee, Robertson and Fogel gave brief speeches during the ceremony that ended with the four large plastic storage boxes being placed in the crypt.
Robertson, a cheerleader, talked about how having Nease's football team win a state championship made senior year exciting.
Fogel, also a cheerleader, spoke about how exciting it was to have the girls soccer team win a state championship for the second year in a row.
Lee, who wants to be a doctor, talked about how his senior class decided to create memories by engaging in "how-could-we-ever-forget" events throughout the year. That included the "Mr. Ugly Contest," when guys dress up as girls to mimic the Miss First Coast Pageant.
Lee said he'll never forget the vision of football player Jason Hill in a wig and miniskirt, dancing to the song Nine to Five as Dolly Parton.
Lee's mother, Bridget Lee, who attended Saturday's ceremony, said she was glad her son and his classmates brought back traditions from the past to have fun and have "memories forever."
Ten years from now, people will wonder who was the last person to touch the mementos in the big boxes, J. Stephen Kuzniar said.
"It's always fun to capture time, like a photograph. People will get to see, feel and touch" the past, he said.
He said the tomb will be sealed and a bronze marker inscribed with "2006-2016" will be placed on the front.
Amanda Kuzniar wished the students best wishes on their "life's journey" and said she looks forward to seeing them again 10 years down the road.
Robertson said she plans to be there.
"Of course I'll be there," she said. "I've got to see what Ali wrote about me."