City will bury time COVID-19 time capsule
The COVID-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented time in history. School and business closures, sports season cancelations, drive-thru graduations — days have been spent working to keep a distance during a time when there is normally so much to celebrate. The City of Somerset wants to help preserve these memories by burying a time capsule filled with keepsakes, in the hopes they will serve as an educational tool and historical resource when retrieved in 20 years.
Community Development Director Joy Carroll is encouraging participation from Somerset residents.
“This will certainly be a time in our lives we will never forget,” Carroll said. “Capturing memories from this period in a time capsule is one way we can preserve history and show a future generation of Somerset residents how we came together as a community to weather this pandemic.”
To participate in 2020: The Time We Missed, individuals and families are invited to collect up to five items to place in the time capsule. Items must fit in a one-gallon storage bag and should be labeled with the family’s name and date. Bags should be dropped off in crates that will sit outside the main entrance to the Energy Center.
The deadline to drop off items is Tuesday, May 26.
Examples of what to put in the time capsule include graduation tassels, photos, masks, children’s art projects completed while learning from home — any item that will fit in a gallon-size bag that represents time spent during the pandemic. Eighth-graders and high-school seniors could even write a letter to themselves about what it was like to miss proms, formals and graduations, Carroll said.
City officials will bury the time capsule at 11 a.m. June 5 in front of Rocky Hollow Recreation Center, and it will be broadcast live on the City of Somerset’s Facebook page. In case of inclement weather, the event will be rescheduled. Follow the city’s Facebook page for schedule announcements.
For more information about contributing to the time capsule, e-mail Carroll at jcarroll@cityofsomerset.com.
