A former Woodward Elementary School teacher is asking for the community’s help to locate a time capsule hidden 30 years ago.
Janet Seese is currently an educational assistant at Carlisle Elementary School, but she previously worked as a teacher at Woodward from 1983 to 2000. In November 1991, Seese said the school put items into a time capsule and scheduled its opening for this weekend, 30 years later.
However, Seese said as the opening of the artifact drew near, she went to check on the time capsule only to discover it wasn’t where she believed it to be. Seese said she believed the time capsule was buried, and she knew there was a plaque put up in the basement of the school to commemorate the project. Unfortunately, the time capsule wasn’t buried where she thought it was and it wasn’t in the basement behind the plaque.
Seese said school staff has used a metal detector to search around trees near the school, and there are plans to search the courtyard at the school as well.
According to Seese, the time capsule was originally going to be a large box, but the plans were changed.
“We had to redesign what we could put in there, but I don’t even know what we redesigned it to,” she said.
Seese, who has spoken to other teachers who worked at Woodward at the time, said the capsule reportedly contains artwork and other donations from students.
Seese has also reached out to some of her former students from 1991, but they are also having trouble accurately remembering where the capsule is.
“Most of the students are just vaguely remembering things,” Seese said.
As for now, Seese and other school staff, including Dawn Riedlinger, who taught with Seese back in 1991 and who is still teaching at Woodward, continue to follow leads and investigate places the time capsule could be.
“I just think it’s cool, and I’ve been looking forward to it, knowing it was there,” Seese said. “It’s something fun to do that’s historical. You dig up something and bring back people that were there and have grown up. It’s just an exciting thing to do in a community.”
Seese is asking the community to contact her if they remember anything about the time capsule.
“I like to dig into mysteries,” Seese said. “I’ve asked as many people as I can think of … Maybe somebody, somewhere, knows something … Some hint.”
Individuals with information can contact Seese at [email protected].
“I don’t want somebody to find it 100 years from now when we are all gone and we don’t get to see it,” Seese said.
