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A 2-foot-by-8-foot steel time capsule from 1976, filled with local photographs, newspapers, keepsakes and mementos, was unearthed on April 9 in Coldwater Memorial Park near the veterans memorial and the village pool.
COLDWATER - Coldwater officials recently unearthed pieces of the town's olden days by opening a 1976 time capsule full of local photographs and mementos from the past.
In accordance with the nation's 250th birthday, members of Coldwater's America250 committee, with some help from village officials, dug up a 50-year-old time capsule on April 9 that was buried during the country's 200th birthday on July 4, 1976, in Memorial Park near the veterans memorial and the village pool.
Officials had no idea what they'd find in the 2-foot-by-8-foot steel capsule, nor did they know if its contents would be damaged after decades under ground.
"We started with a small backhoe that we could use. They had to bring in bigger machinery just to get it out. We were flying by the seat of our pants, we weren't sure what to expect," village councilor and committee member Brad Niekamp said. "We knew what we didn't want to see. We didn't want to open this thing and have water just pouring out. Fifty years ago, I don't know how much they knew about time capsules. We probably know a little bit more now, so we were genuinely concerned."
The group originally planned to dig up the capsule, pull it up out of the ground as a test, and, if everything went as planned - meaning there were no signs of water damage - hold a ceremonial removal, he said.
An inscription from the 1976 Coldwater time capsule.
"Two days before when the ceremonial pull was supposed to be, I got a call from (village manager) Jason Eyink, and he said, 'We have a problem,'" Niekamp said. "They did the test pull and the bottom of the capsule fell out and water poured out of the bottom - and some newspapers and stuff fell out. The one thing we were worried about (happening) is what happened. We didn't really know the extent of how much water was in there, (or) how long it was in there. We knew that the smell of those newspapers told us it had been sitting there for a little while. It was a pretty ripe smell."
While they feared the worst, Niekamp said the majority of what sustained water damage were old newspapers and a Sears catalogue.
"It wasn't too bad, because we've got the archives of newspapers. We can look back and see what those newspapers were. The Sears catalog - it is what it is. It would've been cool to see," he said. "Everything else still stayed up (in the capsule) when they lifted it. Then our village guys removed it.
"They brought it to one of the back rooms where they could work on it. When they finally had time, they got it open, they busted up the concrete, pulled stuff out, and that's what everything here is. All of this stuff came out and then it sat out without us really touching it or doing anything for a couple weeks. We let it get acclimated, let it kind of dry as much as it could."
The Coldwater High School senior class of 1976 composite photo was in the time capsule.
Though the group hasn't gone through everything that was inside the capsule just yet, they've found hundreds of souvenirs from Coldwater's yesteryears.
Keepsakes uncovered include many local images taken by Gary Lefeld, old issues of The Daily Standard and the now defunct Mercer County Chronicle, dozens of old business pamphlets, a Bettie's Restaurant menu dated July 1976, old stamps featuring President Dwight Eisenhower, the class composite for Coldwater High School's class of 1976 and more.
Stamps from 1976 were also found inside the time capsule.
Some of the most interesting items found in the capsule weren't even related to the nation's bicentennial but to the nation's history. Like the Nov. 22, 1963, evening issue of The Daily Standard, announcing the assassination of President John F. Kennedy earlier that day.
"My favorite newspaper right there. The JFK assassination from '63. It looks like they wanted us to open it and see it," committee member Phil Washington said. "We're going to take some of this stuff and put it in the new capsule - probably not everything, but I think this is a big moment in history that would be cool to open in 50 years."
Among the items in the time capsule were hundreds of photos like this one of a Coldwater girls 1976 intramural basketball team.
A photo of Bettie's Restaurant located at 120 W. Main St. in Coldwater. Owners of the restaurant were Mel and Agnes Bertke.
In addition to unearthing the old capsule, the committee members will bury a new one in honor of the country's 250th birthday, with the expectation that it will be unearthed by the village leaders of 2076.
Niekamp said the committee will keep the country's last 50 years of history in mind when filling the new vessel.
"There's going to be some significant stuff and then there's going to be some things I think that may seem slightly insignificant, but are kind of cool," Niekamp said. "Like, we're putting a roll of pennies in that are all from 2025, because that was the last year they were made. I think our committee will sit down and look at that 50-year timeline (between 1976 and 2026) and be like, 'What happened? What should we put in?'"
In 1976, the time capsule, along with the community's bicentennial celebration, were organized by a committee of around 30 residents that included Ernest Kuess, Robert Hibner, Helen Vagedes, Marcella Lefeld, Bob King, Leroy Heyne and Mike Balster.
The committee in charge of the new time capsule and the community's semiquincentennial celebration has about eight to 10 committee members, including Niekamp, Washington, Robert Hibner's son Bob Hibner, Mike Hibner, mayor Doug Bertke and Eyink.
The group has planned an America 250 celebration to coincide with the village's annual Red, White, and Blue Celebration, Niekamp said. Centered at the amphitheater in Coldwater Memorial Park, the free celebration will be held from 4-11 p.m. July 4, and include a slew of bands, a beer stand, food trucks, Touch-a-Truck and the reading of award-winning student essays.
The committee recently started collecting lists from Coldwater businesses and organizations interested in contributing items to the new time capsule. The lists will help organizers determine the size of capsule needed and provide guidance on items for preservation within it.
Those lists are due to the village offices by June 19. All actual items will need to be turned in by Aug. 21.
In this photo from January 1976 Dale Locker, State Representative from Anna, right, presents the Bicentennial flag and certificate to the Village of Coldwater. Accepting the flag are, from left, Dave Gordon, Gene Weber, Bob Birkmeyer, and Coldwater Mayor Maurice Cron.
Though the committee is not accepting items for the capsule just yet, they have started brainstorming ways in which they can better preserve them once buried.
"I don't think we're going to bury it as deep, (because it can cause) a lot more pressure. As of right now, I think we're going to bury it over by the new heritage building in the park, which is over by the depot. It will be two stainless steel containers," Niekamp said. "We will have an outer one and then on the inside we'll put another stainless steel in there. Right now we're thinking (the container will be) about 2-foot-by-2-foot-by-2-foot. That still gives us enough space to put things in without having to bury essentially something that's the size of a casket. We hope to be able to put the new one in the ground in late August (to) mid August."
As for the items recovered from the village's 1976 capsule, Niekamp said the committee will hold an open house at the Coldwater Public Library from 12-7 p.m. June 15. The event will feature a display of the items and a presentation at 6 p.m.
The items from the 1976 capsule will remain on display through August.
"It's exciting. I think the excitement didn't hit full level until it - it sure didn't hit when we smelled (the capsule contents) the first time, but when the pictures started coming up, I think that's when it started getting like, oh man, this is awesome," Niekamp said.
"Like Phil and I are neighbors, and there's been a few conversations of 'This is just so cool to see these pictures, to see into the past and everything.' The excitement level, for us at least, it's been awesome. I can't wait for the community to be able to kind of come through and see - I just kind of want to hang out in the back and watch people revel in it."
This aerial photo of Coldwater was found in the time capsule from 1976.
