County of Obelisk: Audrain County
Location of obelisk: Whitley St. & Western St., old city cemetery, Mexico
Date Erected: July 4, 1976
Plaque Text:
Enclosed Within This Obelisk Is A Time Capsule Sealed On July 4, 1976. To Be Opened July 4, 2076. This Memorial Is Created By Those Living In This Community During The Bicentennial Year Of Our Nation. We Who Live Here Are Intensely Proud Of Our Nation. The United State Of America..."One Nation Under God, Indivisible, With Liberty and Justice For All"...And We Hope That You Who Live Here In 2076 Are Equally Proud.
"The Pledge of Allegiance was written in August 1892 by the socialist minister Francis Bellamy (1855-1931). It was originally published in The Youth's Companion on September 8, 1892. Bellamy had hoped that the pledge would be used by citizens in any country.
In its original form it read:
"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all."
"In 1923, the words, "the Flag of the United States of America" were added. At this time it read:
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
In 1954, in response to the Communist threat of the times, President Eisenhower encouraged Congress to add the words "under God," creating the 31-word pledge we say today. Bellamy's daughter objected to this alteration. Today it reads:
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands,
one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Section 4 of the Flag Code states:
The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag: "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the
Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.", should be rendered
by standing at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. When not in uniform men should remove
any non-religious headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart.
Persons in uniform should remain silent, face the flag, and render the military salute."' ~ US History
Some interesting fact about this place. It is now a city park. A green space, no playground equipment, no rest rooms, no picnic tables. Why? Because it is also a cemetery.
Before the turn of the century (1900) the city decided to clean up this abandoned site, and make it a park. In the process they found tombstone and parts thereof, and discovered the abandoned site was the original cemetery. They cleaned it up, placed the stones they could recover and reapir in a wall to honor those here (many were re-interred in the new Elmwood Cemetery). This happens often in Missouri, I know of a couple other sites the same way. City parks with remains still under ground.
Park is used for gatherings, speaches (political and not), but with the two walls reality is keep close at hand.