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Burial of a time capsule in Mount Ayr, 1977.
By Mike Avitt
Pictured are Phil Foltz (left) and Art Steinman (center) during the burial of the Ringgold County Bicentennial time capsule on April 30, 1977.
This week’s photo was taken from a scrapbook donated to the Mount Ayr Depot Museum by David Cunning.
So, why was the 1976 Ringgold County Bicentennial Time Capsule buried in 1977?
I’m glad you asked.
The goal of the time capsule was to record our history for a future date and to be recognized as the largest time capsule in Iowa.
Items began to be collected in the spring of 1976 with hopes of burying the capsule during Appreciation Days in the fall.
A Bicentennial Pageant was held in Mount Ayr on July 24 and 25, 1976 and collections for the time capsule continued.
Members of the time capsule committee were: Helen Schardein, Rex Jackson, and Ron Gator.
So, Appreciation Days came and went and no burial. It was because the collection did not meet the definition of “largest.”
So, we will bury it in November. Or December. Or whenever.
The deadline was continuously extended because folks were slow in submitting their entries.
On April 30, 1977, the largest time capsule we could assemble was buried between the Soldier and Sailors Monument and the granite post behind it.
Taylor Fiberglass provided the vault and Charles Bennett, Chairman of the Ringgold County Bicentennial Committee, served as master of ceremonies. Dennis Tassel, Diagonal Superintendent, led the volunteers to lower the vault into its resting place.
I was attending a Mount Ayr Sesquicentennial planning meeting recently and someone joked we should dig up the 1977 time capsule. I said, “Let’s dig up the 1966 time capsule.”
Say what?
Yes, there is another time capsule buried on the north side of the courthouse. This one was also buried late…..by ELEVEN YEARS!
The Ringgold County Centennial occurred in 1955 and was the largest event in our county’s history.
A time capsule was organized in 1955 with the expectation of opening the time capsule in 2005; this according to an August 25, 1955 Record-News newspaper. On page ten, Record-News of July 7, 1955, is a complete list of the items contained in the time capsule.
The Ringgold County Centennial concluded with the dedication of the time capsule. But it wasn’t buried.
In 1966, a committee including Melvis Eighmy, Jake Dailey, and Roy Lepley decided on a burial location and Eighmy provided the plaque.
The vault, supplied by Taylor Fiberglass and sealed by Jay Snyder, was buried on August 2, 1966 between the north door and the northeast corner of the courthouse. Right next to the building.
This took place during the Ringgold County Old Timers Reunion. Remember, in 1966 the Jaycees were trenching up the courtyard every year for their barbecue. So the time capsule had to be away from an open area. And here is the good news: more items were added to the vault in 1966 so that complete list from 1955 isn’t so complete after all.
The reason for the delay is probably in the newspaper somewhere, but here’s what I think happened.
In 1955 there were plans made for the dedication of the time capsule, but no plans for the burial. The Ringgold County Centennial was a huge event that required tons of planning and volunteers.
The burial either wasn’t planned or was glossed over because all the volunteers were tapped out.
I can find no evidence a Ringgold County Old Timers Reunion was held in 1956. The 1955 one was suspended in favor of the centennial.
The continuity was disrupted. So the 1955 time capsule sat dormant until someone picked up the responsibility.
At this time the Ringgold County Historical Society was using the fourth floor of the courthouse for storage. The capsule could have taken there as it was about 4 feet by 2 feet by 16 inches in size.
I contributed a letter to the 1976 time capsule but if I had to do it all over again, I would submit items like bottle openers, windshield scrapers, a book of matches, a paper calendar, or any other small item that is likely to be completely obsolete by 2075.
Anyway, it looks like we have a time capsule to open in 2025!
