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Mount
Pulaski opens 1912 time capsule
Among the treasures found, a New York
Herald newspaper dated April 15, 1865, which featured the news of
President Abraham Lincoln's Assassination
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[June 18, 2019]
Louis Volle, Building and Grounds Supervisor of
the Mount Pulaski Unit School District 23, spent the last six months
searching Mount Pulaski High School for a piece of history.
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 With the 1912 building scheduled for demolition in
the coming weeks, Volle had a feeling a time capsule had to be
buried somewhere in the 107-year-old structure.
Volle was right. Inside the northeast cornerstone of the building,
right underneath the school's office, was a copper box surrounded by
limestone.
On Monday night that copper box was opened by Volle, with assistance
from interim Superintendent Phil Shelton, as the school board
members and public looked on. A crowd of history buffs and curious
citizens filled the library of the Mount Pulaski Grade School in
anticipation of the treasures inside the box.
Before Volle grabbed his tools and started to meticulously open the
box, School Board President Eric Cowan spoke, building up the
excitement. "Louis came in on cloud nine ready to open it," said
Cowan. "Phil mentioned let's just do it on Monday at the meeting so
the rest of the public can be here to witness that as well, a piece
of our town's history." Cowan then noted that Volle was the perfect
person to open the box as he had been working really hard to get
things ready for the new addition over the past several months.
After a couple of minutes and Volle resorting to using tin snips to
reveal the contents, the first item pulled from the box made the
crowd gasp. It was the New York Herald newspaper dated April 15,
1865 containing the article about the assassination of President
Abraham Lincoln. Upon further evaluation of the newspaper, MPHS
Social Studies teacher Brian Erlenbush made a call to the Illinois
State Museum for assistance in determining the authenticity of the
newspaper. While that particular issue of the newspaper is listed
among the most rare, this may or may not be a reproduction of one
that would have to be looked at by a historian. No one was at the
Illinois State Museum after hours to take the call.
There also appeared to be three different
publications of a Mount Pulaski newspaper at one time, which was
quite interesting. Inside the box were the following local
newspapers:
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Mount Pulaski Times dated February 28, 1912.
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Mount Pulaski Times dated December 6, 1906.
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Mount Pulaski Weekly News dated December 22,
1911.
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The Mount Pulaski Citizen dated August 30, 1877.
Other items of interest inside the box were:
[to top of second column] |
President:
C.T. Anderson
Board members:
O.W. Mayer
H.S. Buckles
F.W. Meister
Chas. C. Munce
C.E. West
August Unland
An item featuring the inscription "Farmers Bank of
Scroggin and Son."
*Rick Volle of the Farmers Bank of Mount Pulaski was in the crowd
and he confirmed that the bank was incorporated by the Volle family
in 1917. The Farmers Bank is the oldest bank in Logan County.
While the condition of each of the items found in the
box were far from mint, that certainly did not decrease the crowd's
enthusiasm and appreciation for the history uncovered on this night.
If anything, the excitement of uncovering the 1912 time capsule
fueled the conversation for what should be put in the next time
capsule. There is still plenty of time to decide that as the
demolition of the building begins July 1, 2019 and is expected to be
completed in time for classes in the fall of 2020.
Just to clarify, the 1912 and 1927 portions of the high school
building are the ones being tore down to make room for the new
additions. There will also be modifications to the front of the
building facing Spring Street. This construction will improve the
entrance into the school's gymnasium and add a more safe and secure
school office as visitors enter the building.
*Note of interest:
The 1912 building was constructed following a fire that destroyed
the school in 1911.
[Teena Lowery] |
