25 Mar Your Ideas Wanted: The Eustis Street Fire House Time Capsule Project
In the coming weeks, masons will seal up walls at the Fire House, which is prompting us put together a time capsule to be inserted in one of the walls, which we hope one day will discovered by future occupants. But what do we put in it to tell our descendants (so to speak) about life in 2011?
Here are some of the things we have brainstormed so far:
- Newspapers. Perhaps it would be interesting to include both a Globe and a Herald from the same day, as they would likely present the same stories in very different ways.
- Photographs could be of interest, but what subject? Dudley Square in 2011?
- Shots of people might be good – but who, and what are they doing in the photo?
- How about a menu, which will tell about both food trends and cost of living in 2011.
- Technology is certainly a big part of our everyday lives, but if we leave behind a CD, will those who open the capsule decades from now have the means to play it?
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| Examples of pottery shards and pipe stems similar to things found at the Fire House |
Having uncovered several treasures ourselves at the Fire House, we know that we?re often more intrigued by unintentionally discarded items that we find, such as a fragment of a lice comb we found in the fire house excavate. This was probably a common household object centuries ago that no one would’ve thought much about, but we needed an archaeologist to tell us what it was. What are our lice combs of 2011? Things we use daily that may not really be typical belongings 50 or 100 years from now that we don’t really even notice around us? It’s fun to speculate about which things will stay with us, and which things will become obsolete.
We invite your suggestions for what should go in the Eustis Street Fire House time capsule. Keep in mind it can’t be too big, as it will need to fit in a box roughly the size of a large shoe box. What do you think tells the story of life in Boston in 2011? What might you find intriguing if you encountered a time capsule? Also ? where to hide our time capsule? Perhaps in the cornerstone of the building? Somewhere in the basement? If there is anyone out there that has put together a time capsule before, we?d love to hear from you to learn more about the process.
As you can see- we need your help! Please let us know your ideas in the comment section below.
