Village of Monroe Retrieves 50-Year Old Time Capsule

Monroe Village Mayor, Alex Melchiorre had a special care for retrieving this time capsule since he was present when it was set in the earth 50 years ago. He clearly enjoyed having some very young children help dig it up...many with a little assist from their dads.

Some day this young man will have a fond memory of digging the first shovel to unearth Monroe's Time Capsule

Fathers and mothers are teaching their children some important lessons and joys about honoring the past.

Dad shows this little gal how to scrape some of the earth away.

These 2 sisters gave each other a hand

Highway personnel uncovered the capsule (which appeared to be quite heavy having absorbed some water.

A sizeable crowd gathered on Monday with Mayor Alex Melchiorre to uncover the special memories in a time capsule that villagers placed about a foot and a half under the surface in front of the Village of Monroe sign. While the digging was a lot of fun, because Melchiorre chose a handful of young children to get it started, their joy took a little hit when the capsule was uncovered and was bobbing in water. When they opened it they found a Fireman's patch, a stack of (quite wet) newspapers, and a marvelous and enormous vari-colored map of the United States. In good spirits they focused on the large map which miraculously had avoided damage.

Map of the US 50 years ago, including local towns and villages.

And so, some of the items inside were wet... but it did not dampen the mood which cheered up quickly as some of the attendees who had actually been present when it was buried 50 years ago recounted stories of the day. They strolled around the map, noting some changes here and there. One individual recalled that there were many who brought tiny tots in strollers who are now in their fifties. Others shared memories of the special day, being there with family members and officials, some of whom have passed.

Mayor Melchiorre, who was also present all those years ago, pleaded with the crowd, "PLEASE, take pictures today, send them to me! And if you have stories to share. then send those to me too so we can include them in OUR time capsule that we bury for the next generation to discover in another 50 years"

For video of the event, see the Village of Monroe Facebook Page!