Published: September 20, 2007 05:26 pm         

For Future Generations

Time capsule ceremony planned for 150th

What could be a more fitting way to commemorate a glorious moment in time than to place memorabilia in a sealed container to be opened by future generations?

That’s exactly what will take place the end of this month when the Valley Lodge #6 of Pauls Valley and the Pauls Valley Historical Society conduct a cornerstong and time capsule ceremony in conjunction with the city’s 150th birthday celebration.

According to Pauls Valley Masonic Lodge representative, Buddy Mackey, the ceremony will take place in Pauls Valley at the Santa Fe Depot Plaza on Sat., Sept. 29, and several items which represent the year 2007 and the city of Pauls Valley will be sealed in the time capsule.

“We’ll meet at the depot plaza at 3 p.m. and at that time the capsule will be filled with various things which depict Pauls Valley as it is today.

“There will be a roster of the members of the local Rotary Club, Kiwanis Club and Masonic Lodge, as well as other organizations around town,” Mackey said.

“We’ll be including a list of the teachers and school board of 2007 and we’ll be placing some other items in the capsule like money, a sesquicentennial coin, a newspaper and additional articles relating to current affairs.”

The items placed inside the time capsule are not the only things of local historical significance that will be used during the ceremony.

The large cement block into which the capsule itself will be inserted, once served as the cornerstone of the original Jefferson Elementary School and bears the Masonic seal.

The block is engraved with the names of the school board members who were serving at that time and the date “1906” is clearly visible on the side of the weathered stone.

Along with local residents and representatives from various area organizations, several visiting dignitaries are scheduled to attend the momentous occasion including Sen. Susan Paddack, Representatives Lisa Billy and Wes Hilliard, and a tribal representative from the Chickasaw Nation.

To add to the pomp, the time capsule ceremony will include the raising of a special American flag which was flown over our nation’s capitol to commemorate Paul’s Valley’s Sesquicentennial. The flag raising will be followed by the cutting of a giant cake in honor of the city’s 150th birthday.

     

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