By Barbara ScottStaff Writer
We are a generation focused on personal preservation. We try magic potion lotions, in hopes of preserving youthful looking skin; we exercise, take supplements to strengthen our bones and protect vital organs; we drink liquids or take tablets that are supposed to suppress memory loss ( I can’t remember which one) and of course there are those who follow the ‘mind over matter’ philosophy and count on never growing older in general. Even if these wonders all worked, the bottom line is, “Time and tide wait for no man.” As a rule, individuals are living longer, healthier lives but a lot can change in 50 years. Therefore don’t miss an opportunity to actually preserve time. We all have the ability to bring the past into the present for future generations. To the naysayer — no it’s not another glorified face cream, a magic tablet or even a time machine, it’s a time capsule and everyone can be responsible for helping time stand still.
As part of Caribou’s 150th birthday celebration, the Caribou Kiwanis Club has organized a Time Capsule project. On Friday, Aug. 28, Kiwanians will bury a concrete time capsule in front of the Caribou Fire and Ambulance Department on High Street.
By purchasing a special poly mailer for $10, you will be able to compile your own personal contribution to the time capsule. The envelopes are available at Caribou One Stop, Caribou Food Trend, at the Caribou Chamber of Industry and Commerce office or from any Kiwanis member.
Contents of the personal envelopes may include anything that fits into the 11 inch by 13 inch by 2 inch mailer. Suggested items include books, photos, recipes, letters — anything you wish to share with citizens or family members in the year 2059 (the designated date the time capsule will be opened).
Items that are liquid, flammable, perishable, fragile or potentially hazardous will not be accepted. Individual envelopes must be received at the Caribou Public Library before August 1.
With 204, the established number of mailers available to be purchased, don’t get shut out. Caribou school students have already begun collecting memorabilia for their envelopes. Space in the time capsule is limited.
Be a part of the future. When the year 2059 chimes in, not one but two time capsules will be unearthed and opened as, in 1984, during Caribou’s 125th birthday celebration, the first capsule was buried near the same site. Imagine as these containers are opened in 2059, what treasures will be discovered and cherished, the ideal way to preserve our present by being physically a part of the past to generations of the future.
For more information on the Time Capsule project contact Kiwanis members Charlene Gage at 493-3200; Dean Rauch at 492-0421 or Carol McElwee at 498-8605.
It’s Caribou’s 150th Birthday — Be a part of it.
