Recently, I was invited by Matt Kennedy, principal of Ronald Regan Elementary, to attend a special day at the school: the opening of a time capsule that was buried there on campus over 25 years ago.

 

As I waited near the campus for “the dust to clear” after parents from all over the neighborhood dropped off their kids. When I walked onto the campus, I was surprised to see that there was a monthly flag raising ceremony already going om, complete with a musical performance by one of the grades.   Classes were empty, because all the students–hundreds of them–were there for the ceremony, along with several dozen parents.  There was a lot of excitement already brewing.

 

Following the ceremony, Matt invited the entire student body over to the part of the campus set up for the opening of the time capsule.  So, I don’t know about you, but I’ve never actually seen a time capsule, nor have I been there when one was opened.  I was clearly wrong in my assumption that the capsule would be rather small and would be filled with interesting “artifacts” from two and half decades ago.  This thing was huge, probably a 16” PVC pipe used in construction and was about 4 feet tall!  Even more erroneously, I expected to see “ancient artifacts” from the late 90s inside the capsule, whatever those might be, but was pleasantly surprised to see that each class in 1999 was tasked with contributing something creative from their class … artwork, books, class photos, a school yearbook, and even a the front section of the Bakersfield Californian showing the first (and last) snow day for the school in that year.

 

Matt was accompanied by the student council who took turns digging deep into the capsule to unveil yet another memory from the past.  It was fun to see their reaction to each time they extracted from deep inside the capsule.

 

While I was busy taking photos and videos of the capsule experience, one of this magazine’s young writers, Adhrit Saha–a sixth grader at Reagan, sat next to me and took notes about the items found inside.  I asked him to share his experience that day as well.

 

When I first heard about a time capsule being in my school and that I was going to be able and witness it being opened before graduating from elementary school, I thought that it was so cool. But I didn’t really know what a time capsule was. I did some research and found out that it’s a container which consisted of items from the past, meant to be preserved and then opened in the future. I also watched a couple videos about time capsule being opened but couldn’t imagine what to expect out of a time capsule which was made for a school. To be honest, I had presumed it was just going to be some antiques from the past and some class projects which were about to be unveiled, and I wasn’t completely wrong. Though I didn’t know much about what would be revealed, I was still very excited for it to be opened and couldn’t believe that I got to write about it for the magazine!

 

The items which were preserved in the time capsule were all very interesting to say the least, but there were 3 items which really stood out to me. My third most favorite item was a newspaper dating back to October 24, 1998, and this really stood out to me because I was born on October 24. While not on the same year, I thought it was really cool how it was published on the same day as the date that I was born on, but nothing else really stood out to me about it. In 2nd place, we have a photo of the school’s construction. The reason why I put this up at 2nd place was because the photo was not just of the school itself being built but also represented the beginning of the story of this school which would be home to so many wonderful children for years to come. Finally, I have placed the newspaper which talked about the time when it snowed in Bakersfield at 1st place. This event had taken place on January 25, 1999. The reason why I think this item was the most fascinating out of all the 20+ items in the time capsule, it was talking about Bakersfield getting snowfall. I’ve only seen snow about 5 times in my life and loved every time. I love how fun it is to play in the snow. And this very article was talking about how it snowed in Bakersfield, which is something I would love to witness myself. 

 

One thought that I had about the time capsule was that I thought that it was crazy how the time capsule had been there, and I had never noticed it until we were told of the news that it was going to be opened soon. Another thought is that it’s kind of hard to believe that all the kids who were at the school during the year of the capsule being made are now at least 30 years old, and most of them probably already have families of their own. (Publisher’s comment: some of those 6th graders from 1999 are indeed now adults and parents who were there that day to point themselves out in some of the photos!)

 

Now if I was a sixth grader during the first year of Ronald Reagan being a school (1998-1999), the item that I would love to put in the capsule is a note talking about one of my biggest goals which I want to achieve later in life, which is to become a multi-millionaire, and possibly a billionaire by the time I am around the age of 50, so that I can support not only me and my family, but also the homeless and the less fortunate, and to also fulfill the promise I made my dad about buying him a Bugatti Chiron when I was 8. It would be fun to come back to the school 26 years later in my personal favorite car, the Pagani Imola Roadster to see that note that wasn’t just for others to see, but as a reminder to myself of how far I’d have come.

 

Who knew a big PVC pipe could hold so much heart, history, and a little bit of snow-day magic? Here's to the memories we uncover — and the ones we’re making right now.