Stetsonville School Time Capsule

In 1999, students and staff at Stetsonville Elementary School placed items in a time capsule. It was during the 1999-2000 school year and with the change in the calendar there was interest in preserving a snapshot of what things were like being in elementary school at the time In this case, the time capsule was a large red and green plastic tote that was then securely sealed with duct tape and labeled “TIME CAPSULE” “DO NOT OPEN UNTIL 2025.”

For the past two and a half decades the tote has been in storage at the school. For most of the time it sat collecting dust, occasionally being moved around as needed and on at least one occasion came close to being thrown away.

Meanwhile the elementary students who placed their envelopes in the time capsule grew up. They went on to middle and high school and by 2011, the youngest of them graduated.

Some moved away. Others stayed in the area, got married and are parents of children attending Stetsonville Elementary School. Most of them had probably forgotten about the plastic tote and its contents.

Teachers have long memories. Even years after retiring from being in the classroom every day, they remember their classes and students. A group of them remembered the time capsule and decided to have an event to celebrate its opening on Friday, Nov. 29 at Centennial Hall in Stetsonville. While it is not quite 2025, it is the 2024-2025 school year and organizers picked the day as one where those who had moved away would most likely to be able to make the journey home.

More than 100 former Stetsonville Elementary School students and area families gathered on Friday night to open the time capsule. Inside were class pictures, slides, a copy of a teacher’s contract, a newspaper, and envelopes labeled with each student’s names and their picture.

Organizers read off the names of the envelopes so that those present could come and retrieve them and see what treasures had been place inside a quarter century earlier. Some were thick with treasurers and memories. Other envelopes were thin. Even the envelopes that were empty are part of the history of the school and community with their pictures and smiling faces from when they were in elementary school.

Those who were unable to attend the event can pick up their envelopes from the time capsule at the Medford Area Public Schools district office located on State Street in downtown Medford.

Photos by Alex Wilson Page Layout by Lydia Ploeckelman