Harry,
 
Thanks for the chuckle. The irony in this case is if the building hadn't had to be torn down, the time capsule would still be resting in the cornerstone. The idea to open the time capsule came from high up in the organization and has developed a life of its own as is perhaps obvious by the fact that we are trying to figure out how to open it less than a month before the Board of Governors' meeting.. Since B'nai B'rith was founded in 1843, I'd much prefer dealing with a time capsule from 1856 or even 1906!

Good luck with your time capsule.
 
Kathleen
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask]
Sent: May 25, 2006 11:18 AM
To: Kathleen Crosman <[log in to unmask]>, [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: opening a welded metal time capsule


Kathleen,

This is none of my business, and I realize that this decision was probably not yours to make, but it does beg the question, "Why open the time capsule so soon?"  1956 was only fifty years ago, and it's unlikely there would be any information in the time capsule that is not already known or could not readily be found elsewhere.  To my way of thinking, a time capsule should be kept sealed for at minimum a century, and preferably for five or ten centuries.  It's a bit like opening the oven ten minutes after putting the cake in to see how it's cooking.  Myself, I would be much more interested in unsealing a time capsule from 956 or 1456 than one from 1956.  

BTW, my organization also has a time capsule.  It was sealed--or actually, the box was locked--in 1990, on the 50th anniversary of Public Debt becoming a bureau of the Treasury Department.  The plaque asks that it be opened in 2019, on the centennial of our predecessor, the Public Debt Service.  Never mind that our mission, financing the federal government, as well as our records, predate the founding of the U.S. Government and the American Revolution.  Although I will retire well before 2019, I intend to bury--or disguise--that time capsule so deep in the archives that it will be forgotten and inadvertently kept sealed for a long, long time <wink>.

Like I said, your time capsule is none of my business, so take my two cents for what little it's worth.

Harry

Harry G. Heiss, Archivist
Bureau of the Public Debt
Department of the Treasury
799 Ninth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20239

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