By Andrew Hackmack
The time capsule will be the centerpiece to a display of stone pieces from the 1964 World¹s Fair in Flushing. District 13 Assistant Superintendent for Business Meredith Brosnan said the district purchased these pieces, which once numbered about a dozen, following the fair.
³Many were weathered,² she said, ³but we were able to restore four of those pieces.²
The pieces, when organized in a certain fashion resemble different animals. Created by a sculptor, the items were on display at the Chunky Candy Pavilion at the World¹s Fair. Following the district¹s purchase, the stone pieces were set up at Willow Avenue School.
³The idea was that the figures would be so much fun for the kids,² she said.
The pieces have since been in storage for several years. The four refinished sculptures are already in place at Dever Elementary in North Valley Stream. On Oct. 19, the time capsule will be buried.
Brosnan said they chose to hold the burial ceremony in October because that is the same time of year the 1964 World¹s Fair came to a close.
Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Lison explained that students and members of the community will help to donate items that will be stored in the time capsule.
A committee which includes Lison, Brosnan, Board of Education Vice President Debra Evans, Director of Buildings and Grounds Mike Palotta and second grade teacher Denise DeMeo will decide what artifacts will go in.
³We want to capture the essence of 2007,² Brosnan said.
Lison explained that some artifacts will include newspapers, programs from community activities and a district calendar. Students will do research and write essays about the 1964 World¹s Fair and the stone pieces, also to be included in the time capsule. Additionally, the children can recommend other items to put in.
³Kids can put in anything from 2007 that is interesting,² Lison said.
Lison said that Board of Education President William Stris had suggested the idea for a time capsule. He will be including a DVD containing the recordings of old board meetings. And because technology is always changing, there will also be an explanation of what a DVD is.
³One hundred years from now they might now even have DVD players,² Lison said.
The time capsule will be about the size of a large garbage can and buried about six feet deep. There will be a plaque in the ground above it to remind the citizen of 2107 to open the time capsule.
³We¹ll have to remember to spread the word from generation to generation,² Lison said.
