05/26/2026
A time capsule containing items representing life in Belle Plaine during our nation’s bicentennial celebration is set to see the light of day after 50 years!
Buried by the city’s Bicentennial Commission on November 5th, 1976 near the North entrance to City Hall, the time capsule will be dug up this Friday, May 29th beginning at 8am, weather permitting.
When excavation is complete, it will immediately be taken for exterior cleaning and then transferred to the Belle Plaine Area Museum.
The Time Capsule Committee, chaired by Charmaine Wickwire and Mitch Malcolm, will later open the vault and begin the task of going through and categorizing the memorabilia. The public will get its first glimpse of some of the contents during a program planning for 3pm on July 4th at the museum.
While the condition of the vault’s contents won’t be known until it is opened, newspaper reports of the time note that magazines, newspapers, photographs of places and events, grade school pictures and class rosters, and letters to businesses and city government were among the items placed in the vault.
Also included were envelopes of several sizes holding letters an memorabilia from individuals addressed to their heirs or descendants. These personal items will not be opened or placed on display. The committee will make every effort to get them to the person(s) to whom they were addressed.
The public is welcome to watch the time capsule come out of the ground Friday but is asked to stay a safe distance away for safety reasons.
