WESTBROOK – Even before guests eyed the contents of the 1914 time capsule, unveiled at Westbrook’s bicentennial celebration in June, plans for a new capsule were under way.

During the celebration on June 9, city officials displayed the new capsule, which, at about four-times the size of the century-old rusted tin box pulled out of Riverbank Park, has the potential to house quite a bit more memorabilia.

However, a time capsule, while seemingly simple, has brought up tough questions for the city’s Bicentennial Committee, including what should go in and whether the capsule should be buried at all. The committee has asked residents to share their thoughts on what should be included, and stressed that there is still time to pass ideas along.

On Tuesday, Christine Latini, a Bicentennial Committee member, provided the American Journal a glimpse of the new and old capsules, which sit in a vault at City Hall. Items to be placed in the new capsule include a 2014 penny, a U.S. Postal Service “forever” stamp, and a city flag from the City Council chambers. The capsule isn’t scheduled to be closed until Dec. 18, the same date the 1914 capsule was buried.

Latini, whose daughter represents the sixth generation of her family in Westbrook, dating back to her great-great-grandfather, Ernest Kinmond, said she got involved with the committee because she realized her ancestors were in Westbrook for the centennial celebration.

“It hit me that my ancestors were here for this, and I thought that’s kind of cool,” she said.

The committee, made up of mostly city staff and officials, meets monthly, but following the June 9 celebration, the group turned its focus on the new capsule and the logistics of creating a time capsule that will last 100 years.

One decision facing the committee is whether to bury the new capsule, given the difficulty of ensuring any capsule lasts a century without vandalism or water damage.

Latini said both sides of the issue have been discussed.

Getting the 1914 capsule out of the ground “was a lengthy process,” she said. “They made it extremely hard for anyone to get to the capsule.”

When Arty Ledoux, deputy director of the city’s Department of Public Services, led a team in excavating the centennial time capsule this spring, the tin box housing dozens of documents was hidden inside a granite monument, but also had a 4-foot concrete base. The large structure provided Ledoux with a challenge, and also showed the Bicentennial Committee how much work went into burying the capsule in 1914.

If the new capsule is not buried, it could be enclosed in a special shrine, and kept at City Hall.

“Of course there are other people on the committee who feel that the digging up of this was exciting, so the jury is still out,” Latini said.

“There is some energy out there that we should bury it, but there are some challenges,” Ledoux said, referencing the water damage seen in the centennial capsule. “We may think that in 2014 we have the technology solved for putting this in the ground, when in fact maybe we don’t.”

Ledoux said Wednesday that costs associated with creating a similar structure for the new capsule could reach thousands of dollars.

“Putting this inside of a granite piece could be astronomical,” he said.

Instead, Ledoux said, the committee should look at placing the capsule inside a vault structure, which could be buried with a monument placed on top.

The new capsule was built by D&G Machine Inc., and is a seamless, heavy-duty, stainless-steel box, complete with a lid that will be sealed and screwed into place.

Following the bicentennial event, Latini, under direction from Mayor Colleen Hilton, made presentations to students at Canal and Congin elementary schools, explaining the process of digging up the capsule, and what came out of it.

“The kids loved it, and sent me a slew of thank-you notes,” she said, adding that they included suggestions for what should go in the 2014 capsule.

“A key to the city, an iPhone, pictures of houses and cars, newspapers, names of Westbrook schools, a TV remote,” Latini said, reading the letters. “They also really want to know if we’re going to bury it. The kids want it buried.”

Latini said she’ll also be arranging presentations at Saccarappa Elementary and Westbrook Middle School once the school year starts.

During Together Days, and the bicentennial celebration, a suggestion box for items to be placed in the capsule yielded a long list, some of which have already been stored away.

A few of the items suggested are: a receipt from a local gas station; a heating oil bill; catalogs from local car dealerships; a USB flash drive containing videos of the Together Days parade, Al Hawkes singing a song about Westbrook and coverage from the June 9 event; a Walker Memorial Library card and brochure; a Together Days brochure; and the official program from 1914 that was found in the previous capsule.

Latini said while some items have been suggested several times, such as an iPhone, adding technology provides yet another challenge for the committee, which will seek ways to ensure that the items aren’t damaged, or can even last 100 years in a box.

“When moisture gets to anything metal in the capsule over time, it could ruin everything else in the capsule,” she said.

Metals in the 1914 capsule corroded and stained some paper documents.

Ellie Conant-Saunders, 93, whose ancestors were among the first Westbrook settlers, said Tuesday that she feels the new time capsule should include a list of notable events that have occurred in Westbrook in the last few decades.

“A great deal has happened in Westbrook lately,” she said, listing the recent expansion of Idexx Laboratories. “Anything that has improved Westbrook either business-wise or environmentally, such as on the Presumpscot River. Those things are important now and into the future.”

“You kind of have to think globally,” Latini added. “What has affected Westbrook the most in the last 100 years?”

“You want to keep it about the municipality,” Ledoux said.

Christine Latini, a member of Westbrook’s Bicentennial Committee, goes through items that could be included in a bicentennial time capsule to be sealed on Dec. 18. On the left, the centennial time capsule sits in a glass case, while the newly built, and much-larger, stainless steel capsule is next to it.  

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