These puzzles, put together by members of the Senior Center and Spirit Squad at Mountain View Elementary School, will be included in the time capsule set to be buried in Heritage Park on July 16.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
EAST LONGMEADOW — What would you want people in 2076 to know about life in East Longmeadow today?
What things and information do you think people felt were important back in 1976?
The answer to both questions involves the same mechanism — a community time capsule — one buried by townspeople during the 200th anniversary of America’s founding, the other being created now.
In the spirit of ‘76
“There were a lot of things going on back then, and this was one of them,” Historical Commission Chair Christine Devlin said of the original time capsule. She added that much like the current time capsule project, the 1976 project was a joint effort between the East Longmeadow Rotary Club and the Historical Commission.
The town unearthed its homage to life in 1976 on May 31, extracting it from the spot in Heritage Park where it was buried on July 18 of that year.
“We dug it up a few weeks back so we could get a jump on getting the contents out,” Devlin told Reminder Publishing in late June. “We are planning to reveal the contents to the public on Aug. 6 at 6 p.m. at the Pleasant View Senior Center.” Plans are still in the works for the unveiling, Devlin said, with the hope that ELCAT will be able to project the contents on a screen so all attendees will be able to see the items from 1976 as they are revealed.
More information about the event, including whether people will need to register to attend, will be forthcoming, she added.
Devlin said there’s been a lot of excitement about the contents of the 1976 time capsule.
“Many people know someone who put something in there for them, or they remember putting something in there, and it’s been fun to hear from everybody,” she said.
Capturing a picture of 2026
Devlin said the Historical Commission is excited to be working again with the Rotary Club for the new time capsule project, which was spearheaded by former Historical Commission Chair Tom Behan.
“Tom Behan passed away very sadly in January of this year,” Devlin shared. “Something he was very passionate about was the old excavation and the new capsule.”
Devlin said Behan, who was chair of the commission for four years, brought up the capsule projects at the end of 2024.
“He wanted to get a jump on things, and it was smart to do so,” she added.
The new time capsule for 2026 measures 5 feet by 2 feet, providing the commission and Rotary Club with ample room to include important and interesting memorabilia and submissions from this historic year, Devlin said. She added that, as donations have been coming in slowly, the deadline to submit items for inclusion in the capsule has been extended to July 11.
The 2026 time capsule is slated to be buried in Heritage Park at 6 p.m. on July 16.
Donations for inclusion can be dropped off at the Pleasant View Senior Center auditorium, the East Longmeadow Public Library, or the town manager’s office.
“We originally said items that were 11 inches by 17 inches maximum, but we are open to cool things, and it will be at our discretion what we will put in,” Devlin said.
To help spark interest in participating in the time capsule, she said the Historical Commission will have a float in the town’s Fourth of July parade.
“We’re in the grouping with the Rotary Club float,” Devlin said. “Some of us will be walking and some riding. I will be out there handing out some fun things to the kids.”
To date, there have been several opportunities for town folk to create items for inclusion in the time capsule. Devlin said on May 30, the Historical Commission had an event at the Norcross House where they invited children to do coloring pages for the capsule and offered questionnaires for attendees to fill out for potential inclusion.
Those interested in submitting something to the time capsule who missed the Norcross House event will also find the questionnaire on the Historical Commission’s Facebook page.
Devlin said the commission also worked with Greg Thompson from the School Committee to connect with several classrooms for submissions from students.
“We have some really cute notes about what they think things will look like in 50 years, so those are going in the capsule,” Devlin said.
Even the Pleasant View Senior Center got in the act. Program and Volunteer Coordinator Alicia Mattsson-Bozé shared that on March 20, the Spirit Squad from Mountain View Elementary School teamed up with members of the Senior Center to create original puzzles for inclusion in the time capsule.
“We gave out small blank puzzles,” Mattsson-Bozé said, explaining that each pairing of student and elder created their own unique design. “It was a good time, and it was fun to watch the interaction between our older adults and the students.”
Mattsson-Bozé said the names of the students, their school, and the name of the elder they worked with were added to each puzzle, and the puzzles will be sealed for preservation before being placed in the time capsule.
“We put the names of the students and school and hope, when the new capsule is opened, we can find the students,” Mattsson-Bozé said.
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