Twenty years ago, Oswego State professors and students buried a time capsule outside Tyler Hall. On Oct. 14 it was unearthed.
The project was created by now-retired Oswego State professors Paul Bartow and Karen Bacon during their one-year faculty replacement position in the art department in 1996.
“We were surrounded by a great group of students and felt by the year’s end we should have something to memorialize our collective time together as artists, colleagues and friends,” Bartow said.
Invitations were also extended to students around campus outside of Tyler Hall who wished to partake by adding items that held an importance to them.
Mark Cole, now retired, was a professor in the theater department at the time of the project and asked his theater history class to write short essays to be included.
A wooden box was buried in April at the southwest corner of Tyler Hall, three feet underground, Bartow said.
A plaque was placed upon the burial site stating when the capsule was supposed to be unearthed, according to Julie Pretzat, the dean of the School of Communication, Media and the Arts.
The original date to excavate the time capsule on Oct. 11, it was not discovered until Oct. 14, because every time groundwork was done near the burial site, the plaque had been moved
“It was a group effort and we are grateful for those who were there in moral support and for those who had shovels in hand,” Bartow said.
Bartow, Pretzat, Cole and Bacon were in attendance at the capsule’s unearthing.
At the time of the burial, Pretzat was working at Oswego State, but was not aware of the time capsule.
“It was fun to be a part of it,” Pretzat said. “It was great to find it and it sort of ties together our past with our future.”
Cole said even though the objects were triple-wrapped in plastic, water damaged much of the contents, including the essays his class wrote.
“Considering the water damage, it was most interesting to see how objects were transformed, but still recognizable,” Cole said. “I had expected that things might be perfectly preserved, but then was intrigued at the strange beauty of things”
A small metal sculpture is now rusted over because of the water. Other objects were structurally intact.
“Now that the capsule is open, we are left with the task of interpretation,” Bartow said. “Some of the objects are quite easily interpreted, while others like a name tag or a learner’s permit require some work to decipher.”
Joseph Kienzle, a junior, said his favorite object from the time capsule was of a cutout of Yosemite Sam, a character from “The Looney Tunes” series.
“I have fond memories of that show,” Kienzle said.
Cynthia Fernandez, a sophomore, said she has a pair of Birkenstock sandals just like the ones found in the time capsule.
Other contents inside the time capsule included an old edition of The Oswegonian, a floppy disc, swimming goggles, a package of ramen noodles and a plaque that read, “M. Fox,” for Michael Fox, a retired professor.
“There are some things in there that are now obsolete like floppy discs, but still some things that we can still connect to such as a package of ramen noodles,” Megan Twamley, a junior, said. “Some things are just timeless.”
Plans are in the works to decide what should be done with the objects, such as putting them in a proper display case with identifications of the pieces. Bartow said he would like to see a book of writings and images created. For now, the time capsule’s contents are on a table in Tyler Hall’s lobby.
