In line with the City of Petal’s 50th anniversary celebration – which has lasted throughout most of this year – the Petal Board of Aldermen recently approved the institution of a time capsule that will tell the story of the city since its inception in 1974.
The capsule, which was approved at a recent meeting of the Petal Board of Aldermen, will be housed at Petal Civic Center at 712 South Main Street, and is expected to be opened in 50 years in 2074. The board contributed $1,000 toward the cost of the capsule, while the Petal Historical Society – which is assisting with the project – will put up the remaining $79.
“I just think the history of Petal is important,” said Keith Ball, who serves as board member for the society. “I think it’s something we should preserve for future generations.”
The time capsule measures approximately 20 inches x 16 inches x 10 inches and is expected to be placed in the civic center sometime in December, in line with the city’s annual Christmas activities.
“Like anything, stuff can take longer than expected, but that’s the plan because we want to get it in there for this calendar year,” Ball said. “Hopefully it’ll tie in to the Christmas parade and tree lighting.”
Currently, staff from the historical society are seeking feedback and ideas on what type of items to put in the capsule, although donations are not necessarily being accepted.
“We’ve had some good ideas (so far),” Ball said. “One thing I really liked was the photos – like the aerial photos of Main Street and the way things look right now.
“And the (Evelyn Gandy) Parkway too – the parkway is going to look a lot different 50 years from now. So I think it’d be neat to have pictures of Main Street, Central Avenue and the parkway of the way it looks right now. And I’d love to have some from (the city’s inception) … right now, we’ve got bits and pieces, but not a whole shot of the road.”
Anyone interested in contributing ideas for items for the time capsule is encouraged to message the Petal History Facebook page.
“We want ideas, but we kind of shied away from people sending us stuff just yet,” Ball said. “Things like lapel pins, we’ve thought about using those – little trinkets from today, and definitely photos and letters.”
City officials originally instituted a time capsule during the city’s inception in 1974, but it was buried and forgotten about.
“They were going to open it for the 25th anniversary, but it got forgotten about,” Ball said. “So that’s one reason we’re mounting it to the civic center wall, so hopefully it’s not forgotten about and buried somewhere.”
Mayor Tony Ducker said he and board members are excited about the prospect of the time capsule.
“I really like the idea,” he said. “I appreciate the work that the Petal History group is doing on this.
“It’s important, and it’ll be a really neat thing for folks down the road to be able to open up one day, and see the things that we had going on during this time.”
