Greene Square time capsule: coins, stamps and newspapers among items in 40-year-old box

CEDAR RAPIDS — A bicentennial coin set, cups from St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church and even a couple buckeye nuts for good luck were all discovered Friday morning as officials in Cedar Rapids opened a time capsule once buried in Greene Square.

A small but eager crowd gathered for the 10 a.m. event.

'Are we ready?' asked Mark Stoffer Hunter, historian at The History Center.

'Yes!' replied those in attendance.

The time capsule, buried during a Flag Day ceremony in 1976, was opened in conjunction with a dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony scheduled Friday at the park, which recently underwent $1.9 million in renovations. Officials had no idea what they'd find inside the time capsule, which originally was packed by Ed Kuba, a pioneer for preserving local history and Czech heritage in Cedar Rapids. They did know, however, that the items were intact, as they recently took a peek inside just to be sure the contents hadn't turned to soup, perhaps during the 2008 flood.

The time capsule itself is a cherub from Kuba's funeral home business. It was placed inside a wooden crate and then encased in concrete for preservation.

Almost immediately on Friday, Stoffer Hunter was surprised by what was discovered.

Upon removing the cherub from the wooden crate, a large crack was discovered, indicating it had been broken at some point in time. Also, a note sat on top of a large plastic bag protecting the items inside. The note was from a city employee who had unearthed the box in the 1980s and reburied it — which could explain the difficulty the city's Parks and Recreation department had in locating the box when Greene Square renovations began last year. The author of the note humorously asked future readers if his house was still in the same location and ended his comments with a smiley face.

A look inside

In 1976, patriotism was rampant with the country's year-long celebration of its bicentennial, and Kuba saw the time capsule as a chance to preserve the special moment in history for both the area and the nation. Many of the items in the box reflected Kuba's vision, Stoffer Hunter said. Kuba died in April 1998.

The first item Stoffer Hunter pulled out was a 45-cent copy of The Gazette, published the day before the capsule was buried.

Many of the other items in the box were publications from the time. A Chamber of Commerce publication included the 'City of Five Seasons' catch phrase that was new at the time. One publication had an advertisement for a 'summer leisure suit,' which got quite a chuckle from the crowd.

See also: Q&A with the man behind the Green Square sculpture

'My dad got too close to a candle with one of those and it melted it (the suit),' said Jason Wright, executive director of The History Center.

The capsule also had stamps, a phone book, a bus guide and numerous other items that Kuba thought would be important someday, Stoffer Hunter said.

The last item Stoffer Hunter removed from the time capsule was a letter from former Iowa Rep. Joan Lipsky, who died in August. Lipsky included a booklet titled, 'How a Bill Becomes a Law' and her letter said she hoped these items were important to future Cedar Rapidians in the year 2000. That detail was crucial, Stoffer Hunter said, because they had previously not had any indication of when Kuba expected the capsule to be opened.

Most time capsules created in 1976 were meant to be opened 50 years after their burial, Stoffer Hunter said, but in the end, officials decided opening the capsule now perfectly coincided with the re-dedication of the park.

'When we uncovered it last August, there were a lot of people interested in it,' said Gail Loskill, communications coordinator for the city's Parks and Recreation Department, which helped plan Friday's event. 'This year would be the 40th year and the park was just completed, so we thought this would be a good time to unveil it.'

Digging up history

Forty years ago, the time capsule was buried beneath a new flagpole installed in the park. On Flag Day — June 14, 1976, the public gathered to celebrate the event. At the time, Kuba encouraged students from the Czech School to attend. Among them was Stoffer Hunter, who was 11 years old at the time. The children joined in singing songs like the 'The Star Spangled Banner' and the Czech national anthem.

'He certainly inspired me,' Stoffer Hunter said of Kuba and his love for preserving history.

Finding the time capsule wasn't as simple as digging it up.

Sometime during the improvements to Greene Square in the 1980s, the flagpole marking where the time capsule was buried was removed, thus eliminating anything that would denote the exact location of the box.

After some searching, and worries from officials about whether they would actually be able to recover the capsule, the box was finally found near where a new spray fountain is located in the park, said Rocky Zimmerman, superintendent for the recent renovation project with Kleiman Construction.

Several of the folks who came out Friday to see the time capsule opened, said they remembered the event happening back in 1976 and were curious to see what was in the box and to reminisce on their past years growing up in Cedar Rapids.

Mike Weepie graduated from high school with Stoffer Hunter and said he was happy to see the box finally turn up.

Majorie Fletcher, whose daughter graduated in 1976, came ready with an American flag outdoor chair to watch the event unfold and was excited to see the old copies of The Gazette and the stamp collection.

Kim Franks was excited to look up her parents' names in the 1976 phone book discovered in the time capsule.

'It's always interesting to see what people think will be important in the future,' said Stoffer Hunter. 'It paints a picture of a person in a specific moment in history.'

1976 — The year that was

Cedar Rapids officials on Friday opened a 40-year-old time capsule removed during the recent renovations at Greene Square. Here is a little trip down memory lane to help look back on some of the local, state and national happenings from 1976:

Cedar Rapids Mayor: Don Canney

Iowa Governor: Robert D. Ray

Iowa U.S. Senators: John Culver and Richard C. 'Dick' Clark

1st Dist. U.S. Rep: Edward M. Mezvinski

1976 Iowa caucus: Jimmy Carter wins with 27.7 percent of vote

Hottest day: 93 degrees on July 9

Coldest day: -18 degrees on Dec. 31

First/last snowfall: Oct. 18/April 25

Corn production: 1.1 billion bushels (89 per acre)

Soybean production: 203.3 million bushels (31 per acre)

Cedar Rapids population: 110,000

Kirkwood Community College tuition: $13 per credit hour ($148 today)

Cedar Rapids Giants (Kernels): 78-53

Iowa Hawkeyes Football: 5-6 (3-5 in Big 10)

World Series: Reds def. Yankees 4-0

Super Bowl: Steelers def. Cowboys 21-17

NBA Championship: Celtics def. Suns 4-2

Stanley Cup: Canadiens def. Flyers 4-0

Indy 500: Johnny Rutherford

The Masters: Raymond Floyd (-17)

U.S. Open: Chris Evert, Jimmy Connors

Best Picture: 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'

Best Musical: 'A Chorus Line'

Outstanding Comedy Series: 'Mary Tyler Moore'

No. 1 song: 'Silly Love Songs' by Paul McCartney and the Wings

Album of the Year: 'Still Crazy After All These Years' by Paul Simon

Average household income: $16,000

Average home price: $43,400

Milk: $1.65 per gallon

Eggs: 84 cents per dozen

Stamp: 13 cents

Gas: 59 cents per gallon

Dow high/low: 1,004/858

Unemployment: 8.5 percent