PEKIN, Ill. – The city of Pekin, literally, dug up its past this week.
The city has recovered a time capsule buried in the ground from 1976, America’s bicentennial. The unveiling of the capsule’s contents on Thursday at City Hall coincides with celebrations marking Pekin’s bicentennial this year.
The ceremony was originally planned to be outside, but weather conditions forced the festivities inside.
For Pekin Mayor Mary Burress, the opening of the capsule was like a trip down memory lane.
“I moved up here in ‘75. So the whole thing just brought back memories,” Burress said. “There’s not one thing that I was shocked of. It was a thrill, and it took me back to the day I moved up here.”
Items contained in the capsule included newspaper clippings, records and documents from Pekin in 1976, memorabilia from Pekin’s celebration of America’s bicentennial, toys, cassette tapes, a Sears catalog, and even bottles of liquor.
There were also letters from city leaders and members of the community in 1976, written to their future counterparts. Burress read a letter written by William Waldmeier, Pekin mayor in 1976, addressed to the current day’s leader.
Waldmeier’s letter contained concerns back then that are shared today, such as finding a way to connect Pekin to Interstate 474, as well as having enough housing for residents.
Tazewell County Genealogical and Historical Society President Susan Rynerson says each artifact has meaning behind it.
“You really need these touchstones to find the city’s role in everything that’s gone on in the world,” Rynerson said. “What we have figured out is that there’s no aspect of national history that doesn’t touch this county or city.”
Rynerson says while there was a lot in the capsule that she already knew about, she was most pleased to see it contain newspaper clippings regarding American bicentennial markers at Pekin houses.
Patrick Davidson attended the ceremony, and called the collection of items “vast.”
“Some of the toys stick out to you. The Mayflower, some of that stuff that’s not around anymore. Some of the things that you see that really aren’t around anymore that you remember from a kid, as being a kid,” Davidson said.
Pekin city leaders are planning to gather items for a new time capsule. Details and plans on what it will entail are expected to come out in August, with a sealing by the end of the year. City leaders say the new capsule will most likely not be buried in the ground, to help preserve some of the items inside it better.
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