Eagle Point buries time capsule items

General

EAGLE POINT — Residents celebrated the end of the town's centennial year Saturday with a burial under a Main Street sidewalk.

Exactly 101 years after Eagle Point officially became a city, about 70 celebrants gathered in its Centennial Plaza to help bury a time capsule packed with items donated by the community.

The capsule will remain sealed underground until 2037. Although most time capsules stay buried for a longer time, city officials wanted to give a few current residents a chance to see the capsule reopened when the city celebrates its 125th anniversary.

"I'm planning on being here," said Mayor Bob Russell. "I'll only be 86 years old and by then they'll be saying the 80s are like the new 50s."

Once the capsule was placed in its underground vault, residents took turns using the city's traditional ceremonial golden shovel to cover it in sand.

The honor of the first shovelful was given to Helen Wolgamott, 84, whose family settled in the Eagle Point area long before the city was incorporated.

Perhaps the youngest shoveler was 5-year-old Zoë Andresen, who, with a grin and a giggle, took the shovel from Wolgamott and easily dumped her scoop of sand.

When asked whether she would come back when she was 30 to see the capsule reopened, Zoë had a quick reply.

"If I know that they're doing it and somebody tells me," she said.

Josiah Miller, 15, agreed.

"I'll probably be back when I'm old," he said. "If I remember."

The metal capsule measures 33 inches by 261/2; inches by 12 inches. It's sealed with an engraved marker stone, featuring the image of an eagle flying over Mount McLoughlin, Little Butte Creek and the Antelope Creek covered bridge that was moved to the city in 1987. Two sets of dates are also included on the stone: the centennial years, 1911-2011, and the capsule's burial dates, 2012-2037.

Once concrete is poured around the capsule, the marker stone will be visible on the sidewalk.

Nearly 100 items were placed in the capsule, including an Eagles football jersey donated by the high school and a basketball signed by all members of the varsity team.

Mayor Russell enclosed a letter he wrote to the city's mayor of 2037.

Other items included a digital video camera, menus from local restaurants, a police badge, electronic handheld games and a poster signed by the cast of the high school's 2011 production of "The Music Man."

"We have a ton of stuff inside," said City Administrator Dave Hussell. "What they do is represent the time we're living in now. Twenty-five years from now people are going to want to see what was going on in today's Eagle Point."

Ceremonies ended with Hussell being awarded the ceremonial golden shovel. After nearly 14 years as city administrator, Hussell will retire next month.

"This is wonderful and very special," Hussell said. "This community has been very good to me and it's been a pleasure working here. I'm thrilled to be part of this ceremony. Thank you very much."