Time Will Tell : School Plants Time Capsule, Searches for Old One

In 1964, the Beatles’ “I Want To Hold Your Hand” was the nation’s most popular song. That same year, Arnold Elementary School in Torrance first opened its doors and soon afterward planted a time capsule filled with ‘60s memorabilia.

We all know what happened to the Fab Four. But 25 years later, no one seems to remember what happened to that time capsule.

For the last few months school officials have been searching the school grounds with picks, shovels and even metal detectors, to no avail. At least 20 holes have been dug in the grassy area around Room 3, where they suspect the capsule is buried.

‘Not Giving Up’

“We didn’t think it would be that hard to find,” said PTA Vice President Caren Brownlie, who has been leading the recovery team. “But we are not giving up on it.”

She said that the teacher and former students who were on hand in 1964 can’t remember exactly where they buried it. Brownlie said she is not sure what the capsule contains, but she has heard that it holds a few Beatles albums, a Rolling Stones record and a tape-recorded message from the teacher and students who buried it.

Last week, as school officials and students celebrated the school’s 25th anniversary, they halted the dig and turned their attention to the future.

Teachers and students buried a new time capsule Friday next to the school’s flagpole. They hope that the capsule, which contains drawings, a T-shirt, newspaper clippings, a soda can and other ‘80s memorabilia, will be retrieved and studied in the year 2014.

That is, of course, if someone remembers where it is buried.

To ensure that, Principal Janice Schultz instructed all the students gathered around the flag pole to point to the 3-foot-deep hole before the capsule was buried.

“Everyone look at where we are burying it because 25 years from now we will be asking you again,” she said with a smile.

After singing “Happy Birthday to You,” the children, some of whom wore clothes and hair styles from the ‘60s, sent 375 red balloons into the air. They laughed and pointed as they watched the balloons sail up to the clouds. A self-addressed post card was attached to each balloon so that when the card is returned, the students will learn how far the balloons traveled.

Then children from each class placed mementos into the time capsule.

The kindergarten class contributed drawings depicting the heritage of each child. The first-grade class included stories that described current events at Arnold. Another class put in stories about what children do in 1989. And the fifth-grade class added an Arnold Elementary School T-shirt and an empty diet cola can.

As the time capsule was covered with dirt, the children silently peered into the hole.

“I think they’ve gotten into the excitement of the thing,” said Ginnie Pritchett, one of the parents on hand for the celebration.

Students’ Predictions

But more than anything, the students seem excited about the future.

Joy Oyamada a fourth-grader who contributed a coloring book to the capsule, said she didn’t know what she would be doing in 25 years but predicted the future would be “neat-o.”

Mark Schkud another fourth-grader who decided the capsule needed a description of himself, said that he would fly a jet in the future and would resemble Luke Skywalker of “Star Wars” fame.

Nine-year-old Chris Kerbers had perhaps the clearest vision of the future. He predicted Arnold Elementary would have robot teachers and children with automatic pencils.

And best of all, he said: “No homework.”