What was everyday life like in 2019 Tuscaloosa?
That simple, and sometimes daunting, question has been the focus of the Tuscaloosa Bicentennial Commission’s time capsule committee. Over the past few months, the committee has met periodically to discuss themes and items that truly represent Tuscaloosa in 2019 to place in a time capsule that will be sealed for 50 years.
Earlier this fall, the committee called on the public to suggest themes and items for the time capsule. The committee then established 12 themes, which include arts and entertainment; sports and athletics; infrastructure; education; and civil rights and diversity.
Dr. Bill Bomar, executive director of University of Alabama Museums, has been part of the Tuscaloosa Bicentennial Commission for several years and is chairman of the time capsule committee.
“We didn’t want to create a ‘chamber of commerce’ collection of objects,” said Bomar. “It’s going to be an honest representation that has an underlying message that the community is happy with Tuscaloosa, and while there are areas that need improvement, we’ve certainly come a long way in 200 years.”
The custom-made time capsule will be dedicated during a ceremony at Manderson Landing on Tuscaloosa’s 200th birthday Dec. 13. During the sealing process, which took place several weeks before the dedication, the stainless steel capsule’s atmosphere was extracted and replaced with argon gas for preservation.
One of the challenges in selecting items for the time capsule was coming up with three-dimensional objects to represent the various themes.
“Many of the items listed within the themes can be easily represented with two-dimensional objects such as pictures,” said Bomar. “But we knew it would be more interesting for those who open the time capsule to see 3D objects, so we’re doing a combination of both.”
According to Bomar, the most popular suggestion for the time capsule were items to represent the many road construction projects downtown and throughout the city. To represent road construction, a photo of the work being done along Lurleen B. Wallace Boulevard was placed in the time capsule.
“Even the things that people complain about, like the traffic, need to be referenced,” said Bomar. “We want to show that although people were aware of the long-range benefits, there were also some negatives.”
While time capsules are a great way to provide future generations with historical context on major events, Bomar and the committee have placed an emphasis on including items we use on a daily basis.
“In looking at time capsules that have been opened, the objects that have attracted the most interest have been the things associated with everyday life,” said Bomar. “For example, our technology theme will include a smartphone and Fitbit so those who open the capsule will see how technology was used in our daily lives.”
Although the time capsule’s content could be preserved for 500 years, it will be opened on Tuscaloosa’s semiquincentennial Dec. 13, 2069.