By JOHN BADEN
Record Herald Writer
Courtesy of the Record Herald; Printed 2.15.13
Vast, rich history of a local village has been uncovered at Milton-Union Schools.
Before the demolition of the former high school began, the school retrieved a time capsule at the northeast corner of the building back on January 12 at a ceremony with over thirty people inattendance. It was the first time the container had seen the light of day since 1938 when the school was first built.
It wasn’t until February 9 that the school opened the capsule, unveiling its mysteries in front of a packed house of Milton-Union families at the halftime show of the boys’ varsity basketball game against Franklin Monroe High School.
“I was glad to see that the community came out and supported it and supported us,” Superintendent Ginny Rammel said.
Rachel Anne Minnich, whose son is Jim Sarver, the owner of Hale-Sarver Family Funeral Home on North Miami Street, and Dick Markley were present to help open it because they were children and present when it was buried 75 years ago.
“That was kind of nice,” Rammel said. “It is a wonderful community; it really is.”
The time capsule’s contents included copies of 3 different West Milton Record newspapers, a program for the cornerstone laying ceremony, genealogies, business flyers and other written documents telling about Masons and the history of the village of West Milton.
One of the newspapers told of the opening of the then new school building, which cost $250,000, and told of the ceremonies and parades that occurred on that day.
Athletic Director Tom Koogler acknowledged that the findings inside will tell a lot about the time period, despite the condition of some of the items.
“Everything’s a little fragile,” Koogler said. “We had a little water damage because it wasn’t sealed real well.”
Rammel said that she appreciates the findings, but she is cautious and wears gloves while looking it over in the school’s board room, trying to read the fine print in areas spoiled by water.
“By handling it, you’re really kind of destroying it, even if you could read it,” Rammel said.
Following last Saturday, the capsule has been in a protective cabinet on display in the trophy case outside the gym of the new high school.
For the future, social studies teachers in the high school are putting another time capsule together to be buried in the spring or the fall of this year.
Rammel said that the school plans to take the class of ’98 Bulldog, which is sitting in front of the old high school location, and put it in front of the media center with the new capsule under the base of it, which will keep the items safe from water.
“We’re going to seal it because I think we learned our lesson on that one,” Rammel said.
The plan is to involve students, agencies and organizations all over town to contribute to what contents will be buried inside the capsule.
Rammel said that she would like to put a form of today’s technology, such as a laptop, into the capsule, and Koogler suggested a highlighter.
“Who knows what’s going to be obsolete in that length of time,” Rammel said. If anyone in the community wishes to contribute to the new time capsule, he or she can contact Superintendent Ginny Rammel by phone at (937) 884-7910 or e-mail at rammelv@milton-union.k12.oh.us.
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