Members of the Hawarden community joined students from West Sioux Elementary School last Friday to celebrate the opening of a time capsule buried nearly 50 years ago during America’s Bicentennial celebration.
The capsule, originally put together in 1976 by West Sioux fifth graders, was buried as part of local Bicentennial activities and remained sealed until this year.
Current Hawarden Mayor Larry Gregg, who was a teacher at West Sioux at the time, says the idea came from the school’s principal during the nation’s 200th birthday celebration.
Gregg says students collected a wide variety of items to place inside the capsule, giving future generations a snapshot of life in Hawarden and at West Sioux during the 1975-76 school year.
While anticipation built for the unveiling, Gregg says the capsule was actually opened ahead of Friday’s ceremony — and many of the items inside showed significant damage from time and moisture.
Despite the condition of some items, the event still drew strong interest from the community. Several members of the original 1976 fifth-grade class returned to Hawarden to witness the opening of the capsule they helped bury as children.
Friday’s event also looked ahead.
Current fifth graders at West Sioux helped gather new keepsakes, school apparel, and mementos that will now be sealed in a new capsule set to remain underground until 2076.
Items recovered from the original time capsule will now be displayed at the West Sioux Middle School.
