Do you remember December 1999? With the new millennium upon us, some wondered if the world would simply descend into chaos once the clock struck midnight on Dec. 31, 1999. And while some were sure that the end was nigh, students and staff at W.J. Quarles Elementary in Long Beach, MS had hope for a future.
In 1999, students in a program for gifted children placed letters and possessions into a time capsule that would be sealed and buried near the school’s entrance. 25 years later, the time capsule was opened.
Carol Paola, who has been teaching since the 1970s, and fellow teacher, Myriam Downey, had students fill the capsule with whatever was meaningful to them back in 1999. The teachers, with Downey appearing with her current students via Zoom, reunited at the capsule’s opening on Friday.
One student in particular, Colby Holland, has been reminding her about the capsule ever since it was buried. He was the one to cut the capsule open and read the letter to the future.
“I remember we were able to go home and bring in objects or items that meant something to us,” Holland told The Sun Herald. “We brought different things, like VHS tapes or floppy disks, or even toys that we might have had back then.”
Holland attended the opening with his son Kameron, who is now a student at the school.
On the day of the capsule opening, current students read a speech and helped scoop dirt from the spot where the capsule was buried, then Holland opened the capsule.
Unfortunately, most of the items had been soaked with water. Some things, like a cassette tape and a VHS tape, were unusable, while others, like four Pokemon cards, were in relatively good condition.
The capsule also contained a Millennium Bear beanie baby, a staff directory from the school, a yearbook, a National Geographic magazine from 1998, a copy of the Sun Herald from December 1999, a K-Mart advertisement listing a 19-inch TV for $149.99, and a PlayStation 1 for $99, a damaged comic book or magazine and some water damaged photos.
The capsule also contained several letters, including one Downey wrote himself.
He teared up as he read her letter aloud.
“Dear all who have opened this time capsule, so how’s the future? This time capsule is part of a project we did to help celebrate 20th century and to start planning for the 21st century. Now it’s 2024, right?” he reads.
“My message to the future is to take the time to spend time with the ones you love. It should be near the holiday season. Is everyone going crazy? Is everyone rushing everywhere? Take five minutes to sit down and do nothing. Look at a Christmas tree, listen to carols or just hug a child.”
Okay, so already it’s safe to say that things haven’t changed that much. We’re still all running around, rushing, and rarely taking those smaller moments to quiet our minds (especially during the holidays.)
Downey, who recovers after getting choked up, continues: “I really believe these moments will still be most important in these times. And we’ll build memories that keep us sane. Remember how things were when we buried the time capsule? Names like Pokemon, Ricky Martin, ‘Mambo Number No. 5,’ ring a bell?”
As the letters were laid out on a table to dry, another former student, Jarred Rushing, found the letter he had written 25 years ago. In it, young Rushing had described how at that time he loved collecting stamps and James Bond, listening to the Backstreet Boys, NSYNC and Britney Spears, and that kids wore baggy jeans and messaged each other on AOL.
“What means the most is I’m here with my 10-year-old daughter and I was 10 when I did this; that’s legacy,” he said. “I still journal every day so leaving things for people to find later is an extraordinary thing.”