The borough of Ridgway in Elk County is now 200 years old. The community celebrated this past weekend with a bicentennial parade, and the opening of a 50-year-old time capsule.
More than a hundred people went to the time capsule ceremony in the Ridgway Municipal Building on Sunday. The metal box was buried in front of the building in 1974.
Jack Cleaver is the chairman of the Bicentennial Committee. He said one woman from the community had the honor of removing the cover to publicly unveil what was inside.
“Her grandfather had told her that he was leaving something in the time capsule," Cleaver said.
But, Cleaver said, she couldn’t find that item.
“We were disappointed and I'm sure she was very disappointed. But she had that memory of her grandfather saying that and telling her that and so that was special to her," Cleaver said.
Cleaver said there were mostly papers in the box, and many had water damage. But he said most items, including notes, programs and newspapers, were still legible.
Cleaver said he gave a speech to the room about connecting the past with the present.
“There are some people who think ‘Oh, big deal. What's the big deal? The town's 200 years old,’ so I really tried to make that connection and see that the past is part of us. It's part of us, like it or not," Cleaver said.
Cleaver told the room it’s time for the current generation to make history. He emphasized that people can leave a lasting mark in their community in many ways other than building a statue or donating large amounts of money.
The borough is already working on the next time capsule to be opened 50 years from now in 2074.
“The borough crew is actually constructing a new time capsule that will be water-proof for sure. And I said, ‘Well you better get ready for a big one because a lot of stuff is coming my way,'" Cleaver said.
Cleaver said he got a wristwatch that belonged to Ms. Dolores Dean, a high school English teacher who passed away in 2021. He says other people want to bury a cell phone so that people in the future can remember the technology of the time.
The items from the 1974 time capsule will go on display in the Elk County Historical Society Museum in Ridgway for the public to see.
Cleaver said he’ll deliver those items this week, and that they should be on display for at least the rest of the year.
