WESTBROOK – Westbrook’s history was front and center Monday at the city’s official bicentennial ceremony, highlighted by the unveiling of a century-old time capsule.

Letters and speeches included in the capsule’s 31 items highlighted obvious differences between Westbrook of the early 20th century and the present, but also provided parallels to issues now facing the city.

During an address to the crowd of roughly 300 residents gathered at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center, Mayor Colleen Hilton read from a document written in July 1914, shortly after Westbrook’s centennial, which references Westbrook’s growing immigrant population. The writer, Ernest Robell, spoke of the differences in Westbrook between 1814 and 1914.

“He said, ‘The inhabitants were mostly native born, but now (in 1914) many people were born in foreign lands and it is not a strange occurrence to meet those who do not speak the English language,” she said. “‘These people that come to Westbrook to become citizens, honor the flag, and wish to contribute their full share to advance the prosperity of the city.’”

Donald Esty Jr., who served as Westbrook’s mayor from 1998-2004, read from an address given by John E. Warren during the dedication of Riverbank Park in 1914, which was included in the capsule. Warren’s words echo sentiment still felt today about maintaining public open space in the city.

“‘The need of such a park is not yet urgent, as open spaces are all around us. But it is well to appropriate land, when it can be obtained, and the need for such a reservation will be a growing one,’” Esty read.

Beginning at 6 p.m. the Westbrook City Band, led by Jerry Brooks, kicked off the festivities with selections of songs that were played during the 19th and 20th centuries.

City Clerk Lynda Adams, who had led the city’s bicentennial committee, said during the ceremony that she was overwhelmed with a sense of pride and astonishment while planning the celebration.

“To think that I was touching and reading from a book that was written in hand 200 years ago for a celebration I was helping to plan today was humbling,” she said, explaining her process in researching materials from Westbrook’s establishment as a town in 1814. “It was at that time I realized I was not just planning another event, I had been asked to chair a historical event that generations will be reading about for decades and even centuries.

Adams also presented highlights of Westbrook’s history to the audience, including major land divisions in the late 1800s that split the Stroudwater and Deering neighborhoods into Portland, and Westbrook’s shift to a city in 1891.

Prior to the unveiling, with its contents spread neatly on tables behind the Performing Arts Center’s stage curtain, Public Services Deputy Director Arty Ledoux and fifth-generation Westbrook resident Christine Latini outlined their process in first exploring the capsule’s contents.

As members of the bicentennial committee, Ledoux, Latini and Adams were the only people to see the capsule’s contents prior to Monday night.

“As a committee we made the decision to remove the time capsule, and bring it up to the Public Services department to secure it,” Ledoux said.

Ledoux said exhuming the time capsule was a complicated venture that involved careful analysis and assistance from the Maine State Archives. The entire buried structure was two granite pieces, which had to be analyzed to find where exactly the capsule was hidden.

“It was 100 years old, and we didn’t want to hurt anything,” he said.

Although the documents were in a tin box inside a granite structure, moisture still made its way into the capsule, corroding the box, but not enough to destroy its contents.

When the stage curtain opened, accompanied by a timely drum roll, those on hand were allowed on stage to view the items, which also included newspaper articles from the Portland Sunday Telegram and the Daily Eastern Argus covering the city’s centennial celebration, a list of city committees, biographies of centennial executive committee members, picture postcards and more.

Guests were also invited to make suggestions for what they think should be included in a new time capsule, which will be buried sometime in 2014. The metal capsule, at a size of 9 inches deep, 20 inches long, and 16 inches wide, is a little larger than the 1914 capsule, and was built by D&G Machine Products Inc. of Westbrook.

Resident Dan Glover suggested a key to Archangel, Westbrook’s sister city in Russia, be one of the items city officials are gathering for the capsule. Glover is the chairman of the Greater Portland Archangel Committee.

Archangel Mayor Victor Pavlenko sent a special message to Hilton recognizing the bicentennial, which she shared during her address.

Latini stood by Monday evening as people filed past historic items displayed on tables. Speaking about items for the new time capsule, Latini believes “technology” would be the most recommended suggestion.

The Westbrook City Band in Monday’s celebration played several historic selections including ones from the city’s observance 100 years ago.

“Our program from tonight,” said Brooks, about items that should go in a new time capsule.

“How well-preserved the newspapers are,” former Mayor Kenneth Lefebvre said after he reviewed the spread of time capsule items.

Esty Jr. said he was surprised that the century-old newspapers contained “so much content on page 1.”

The June 9, 1914, issue of the Daily Eastern Argus reported Major League Baseball results.

“The Red Sox beat Cleveland on the front page,” Esty said. “One hundred years later, I hope they’re still beating Cleveland.”

Resident Joan Harnois said, “The whole thing was just mesmerizing.”

Rita Lane, who lives in an 1830 home that was owned by the city’s first mayor, Leander Valentine, enjoyed hearing a century-old letter read during Monday’s celebration about preserving Riverbank Park, where the capsule was buried.

“It was timely,” Lane said, “the forward thinking moved me greatly.”

Debby Kantor of Westbrook had just returned home from a trip and heard about Monday’s celebration from a TV report. To learn more, she found an American Journal in the vending box outside the AJ office.

“I’m really glad I was here,” Kantor said. “It was fascinating.”

Staff reporter Robert Lowell also contributed to this story.

Former Westbrook Mayor William O’Gara, who served from 1974-1984, presented an item from the centennial time capsule Monday, sharing information about Westbrook resident William Bragdon, who would go on to be a mayor of Westbrook himself. From left, Public Services Deputy Director Arty Ledoux, City Councilor Gary Rairdon and his wife Laurie, and former Westbrook mayors Don Esty Jr. and Ken Lefebvre view contents of the century-old time capsule during the city’s bicentennial celebration Monday.  The front page from a newspaper covering the 1914 centennial celebration was included in the time capsule unveiled Monday.  Westbrook resident Dan Glover reviews items that were removed from a time capsule city leaders placed in a granite monument 100 years ago. Mayor Colleen Hilton addresses the audience of some 300 people, drawing parallels between remarks made during the centennial event in 1914, and issues facing Westbrook today.  

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