Williamstown Community Affairs plans to bury a time capsule on New Year’s Eve that will capture the ups and downs of 2020.
The capsule will be filled in front of the Pfeiffer Center at noon. Residents and businesses in Monroe Township will be invited to place items in the capsule that include menus from local restaurants, nonprofit emblems and photos, a sample election ballot and a current newspaper.
“It will be a look back on the year 2020, the good, the bad, and the ugly,” said Director of Community Affairs Brandee Derieux.
“It’s going to be exciting,” said Mayor Richard DeLucia. “They’re going to have a newspaper in there. They have reached out to the business community and asked them for things that they might want to put in there. They have asked me to draft a letter as the mayor to put in there, just different things that will create some nostalgia about the year 2020.”
Items will be placed in a 3-by-3-foot stainless steel box to keep dirt or water out and the items pristine. The box will be buried 4 feet into the ground and topped with a plaque. Derieux hopes to see the capsule opened in 25 years.
”So much has happened in the last 25 years,” she said. “Amazing things have happened and some sad things have happened as well. So it’s history. It’s history that you can open up, you can see, you can feel and you can touch.”
“History needs to be kept alive,” Derieux added. “I think doing something like this gives us something to look forward to.”
“The year 2020 is a unique year and I think there are a lot of things that have happened this year for the first time” DeLucia said. “I think it will be neat and nostalgic to have a part of history.”
The capsule area has been roughly marked and Derieux is waiting for the gas and electric company to assess the space. The plaque for the capsule is being worked on and will be ready for presentation on New Year’s Eve.
