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During 2012, the year the city of Branson celebrated its centennial, members of the community collected modern “artifacts” to put in a time capsule for the next 50 years. On Thursday, city leaders plan to lock it up until the year 2062. KSMU’s Rebekah Clark has more.
People from the Branson community came together last year to establish the project. The community divided into fifteen different sectors, including theatre, business, healthcare, government, hospitality, attractions, education, environment, media, nonprofits, religious groups and others. Leaders from those areas coordinated items from their sector to capture a snapshot of what it’s like today. Jory Rolf is the time capsule committee chair and one of the people that helped gather these artifacts.
“There’s items like DVDs from shows, a license plate—who knows what traffic and the vehicles will be like in fifty years - centennial banner that was displayed down at Branson City Hall, there’s a red Reynolds guitar that was signed by Branson performers throughout the year, there’s a holy Bible that survived the Leap Day tornado up in the Best Western Pointe Inn, top floor, with some pictures of what happened with the tornado…” said Jory.
There’s also a centennial ornament carved by local woodcarving expert Peter Engler, who died about a month ago, right after it he completed it. There’s also a key to the city stashed inside the artifacts. In total, the sectors collected around 300 artifacts. They will be placed in a 24x24x36 plastic capsule, built to withstand at least fifty years of time.
“A lot of capsules get buried under ground; this one will be placed above ground in a special location. It’s actually under a staircase, the main staircase there in Branson City Hall. There’s a plaque down on the lower level that describes that the time capsule is placed behind these walls, so people can see the plaque.”
In the year 2062, the capsule will be opened.
“They’ll find some stories from young people today. Several of our youth in our community wrote what they thought life would be like in fifty years, so they’ll find stories. They’ll find a snapshot of who we are in that time.”
The first thing they’ll find is an official plaque with a message from the current community members. The last sentence on the plaque reads, “We entrust these contents to the City of Branson and the Sesquicentennial Committee, that you may forever know our story, as you tell your story for future generations.”
For KSMU News, I’m Rebekah Clark.
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And on Thursday, March 7 at 11:30 a.m., the time capsule will be enclosed behind the walls of Branson City Hall, in a protected, dry and conditioned space. The celebration is free and open to the public.