People in the village (now city) of Leslie had embedded the capsule in the foundations of the former Leslie High School when the building had been under construction in 1929.
Members of the Leslie Historical Society, local leaders, and Leslie residents gathered at the Leslie High School auditorium December 5 to see what was in the almost century-old copper box. The box had been soldered shut, so that the contents of the capsule would be untouched by the elements.
“ So we're pretty sure that there was no water damage, which happens frequently in these,” Tim Howery, Vice-President of the Leslie Historical Society said. “It's heavy. It's got stuff in it. And we're just kind of excited to see what there is.”
Using a hammer and pliers, a member of the Leslie Historical Society opened the box and revealed a collection of mementos, letters, newspapers and photographs. Cheryl Hemstreet, President of the Leslie Historical Society, pulled out the objects from the box, and announced the contents to the crowd.
There were newspapers from 1928, including Detroit Free Press, The State Journal (now Lansing State Journal), and the then-longest running paper in the state of Michigan, The Leslie Local-Republican. Audience members were allowed to go on stage to take a look at the contents up close.
Hemstreet read out the ads on the back of papers which point to a simpler, and cheaper, time. “A bottle of ketchup was 25 cents… they have tires for $6.45 and a new car was $585!”
At one point, Hemstreet pulled out an item bundled in cloth and after unwrapping it, broke out into laughter with the crowd— “it’s a bottle of Canadian club whiskey!” The small bottle of Hiram Walker Canadian Club Whiskey was still sealed.
Retired American Cultures Michigan State University Professor Jeff Charnley, who was in attendance, speculated that since “prohibition was still on till 1933, it was technically illegal to have liquor but somebody must have been thumbing their nose at the national law.”
Many of the audience members had lived in Leslie for many generations. Howery, the Historical Society’s Vice President found one of his family members in a photo. Art Hatherly, who lives near the now-demolished old Leslie High School site, grew emotional after finding a letter from his grandfather, W A Herzig. The letter was written in blue ink and in cursive. Hatherly, tightened his grip on the letter and tried to make out the words.
“Within these walls, my own children received their own education and have gone into life with the others and yet the old building with all its memories still exists for although it was built in 1867.”
The time capsule items will be preserved and held for display at the Leslie Historical Museum.