AND IF YOU ASK ME

by Grayce Pitera

If you were to place a small number of items in a box to be opened 100 years from now, what objects would you choose? What bits and pieces of our current day merit a place in your time capsule? You know, those that epitomize life in 2007?
A photo perhaps? Or possibly a book of fiction, a TV guide or a Britney Spears tee shirt? You may want to add newspaper clippings and a message of today’s lifestyles and the state of our town.
These were decisions that needed to be made in 1926, according to JoAnn Mathes. She recently mentioned a time capsule that was buried back then on the old HHS grounds, now the home of our St. Joe’s High School.
Apparently she learned of it through her friend, Ann Macrie Carrelli, whose mom, Millie Ranere Macrie, often spoke of it.
The Macrie family had a strong tie to the event. A photo of Millie’s sister, Jane, was included in the capsule contents, an honor forthcoming to her as the youngest child enrolled in the Hammonton school system at that time.
It was said the capsule was buried “somewhere” in the front of the high school, but no one surviving knows where.
That story reminded me of another time capsule buried “somewhere” in the front lawn of the same high school. In 1956, my senior year at HHS, there was a group of students who thought it would be clever to fill a container with objects of the times and place it deep down in the ground.
I have no idea what objects were placed in our capsule but a few appropriate ones come to mind. A current issue of the school paper, The Blue and White, may have been a good start. Then possibly a pair of scatter pins, dog collar (female ankle gear fad of the times), white bucks powder bag, boy’s pocket comb and a pack of candy cigarettes would be additions indicative of the innocent fun loving era. Photos are certain to be inside.
Well, that capsule suffered the same fate at its 1926 counterpart. Most classmates don’t even remember the event. Others who do have no idea where it’s buried except for the vague location of “near the flag pole.” No sense in asking how far down it is buried. There would be no answer to that question, I am sure.
So then, why didn’t we mark the place with a marker? Who knows? Kids think they are going to live forever and their memories will be as sharp fifty years later as the day they buried the box.
Time has proven that belief to be false. Two capsules buried somewhere on the old HHS school grounds and no one remembers where.
It beats me why we keep delegating the boxes underground without leaving an official public declaration. I am certain that if asked, any bank would hold a small container designated for posterity inside its vault. It would be in a temperature-controlled environment and no one has to go through all the trouble of digging “in the vicinity” of the purported burial site.
Now there is another capsule existing in our town that has enjoyed a favorable fate. Dr. Leonard Streitfeld championed the same cause in 1992. His 100-year time capsule is sealed and safe from the ravages of moisture.
In addition he knows exactly where it is buried. In fact the Historical Society of Hammonton is actively working on a plaque to place on top of the site so that in 2092 the townspeople could actually retrieve it. Inside are artifacts revealing what life was like here in Hammonton in 1992.
Doc invited service clubs, school children, the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Disabled American Veterans groups to include items of interest. School children were asked to express their thoughts on paper and as children do, they enthusiastically complied.
Len included several photos taken all over town so that the 2092 Hammontonians can compare the changes that occur between the 1992 burial date and the opening of the capsule a century later.
Then Streitfeld faced an unexpected challenge. He sat down to write a letter to the 2092 mayor and council outlining the problems that faced Hammontonions at that time along with some facts pertaining to early Hammonton.
He found this to be a difficult task. Writing to people you will never meet is not an easy endeavor, but Doc persevered and included it among the items presently buried at an undisclosed spot for now.
The HSH is looking into having a plaque placed over the site so that present Hammontonians will be aware of the capsule safely placed there waiting for some sunny day in 2092 when a group of townspeople literally dig up the facts contained within.
This time its future is secure and that is the way it should be. I see a pattern forming here. Local history is becoming important again to our residents and the HSH is doing its part to make that happen.
In fact in April its community program will be exploring the historical moments of the 1949 Little Big League Baseball team’s road to the world championship. Surviving members of the team have been invited to come and share some of their memories of their once in a lifetime adventure.
And you may participate too. The club is also asking the townspeople to please write down where they were when the championship game was played in Williamsport, Pennsylvania those many years ago. It wants to place those thoughts in a container of its own and add it to its collections.
Send your memories to LBL World Championship Memories, HSH, 333 Vine Street, Hammonton, NJ 08037 ASAP. In fact sit right down and do it now.
It doesn’t have to be grammatically correct. Write it as though you were talking to me. Feel free to add some other favorite recollections pertaining to your family and the championship in general. Have your family name included in the town’s history forevermore.
Then come to the HSH monthly community meeting at the Atlantic County Library the first Thursday of April and join us. Bring any artifacts pertaining to the championship to share with the club.
Each month the HSH salutes past local happenings. You may remember the Peach Queen celebration two years ago. On April 3 the club is focusing on the local 1949 LBL World Champs.
I am also looking forward to the official Little League’s celebration in the works honoring the upcoming 60th anniversary of the accomplishments of a team of local kids who just wanted to play baseball and went on to win the hearts of the world as well as the championship.
So keep a lookout for that officially sanctioned celebration, probably in 2009. We have an active Little League council that keeps the spirit of America’s favorite pastime alive and well in our town. Congratulations to them. And, of course, congratulations to Len, the HSH and you for remembering Hammonton’s rich and colorful past.