A 50-Year-Old Surprise

The 50-year reunion of San Marcos High School drew a number of alumni to the campus last Sunday. Around seventy 60-somethings donned name tags and hugged fellow graduates of the class of 1961. They gathered for the opening of a time capsule hidden away and forgotten about until recently.

At first, where exactly the capsule lay entombed was a mystery. Aaron Solis, the leadership teacher at San Marcos High, had an inkling that the capsule was at the front of the school. But, the thinking went, it would be difficult to remove it from the location because of a remodeling project done on the front part of the school about 10 years ago.

But thanks to a scrapbook made several decades ago, the necessary details were revealed. While the school’s journalism room was being moved this past school year, some students found a news article in the book disclosing where exactly the time capsule had been “buried.” It was in an office, inside a wall, behind a memorial plaque.

“I don’t know if there’s anyone here who remembers what’s in the box,” asked presenter Carol Lindwall. “No!” replied the crowd in near unison. A dinged-up copper box was held aloft in the hands of a man, who set it down on the table at the front of the audience before its contents were finally freed.

Some artifacts pulled from the container included a newspaper from 1959 (the year that San Marcos obtained it’s present campus), a graduation program, a roster of the city officials at the time, and a Masonic bible, which threw several people off.

The current graduating class brought out some items to add to the capsule, which is to be reburied and opened in another 50 years. These objects included an iPod, a cell phone, a visa card, and the day’s newspaper, alongside People and Time Magazine.

The ceremony concluded when one woman blurted, “Put in a picture of Lady Gaga — they won’t know who or what she is!”