High School Unearths 1964 Time Capsule
November 2, 2017
STUART – A recent construction project at Martin County High School led to an interesting discovery. A time capsule that was placed at the school upon its opening in 1964 was found by representatives of the Morganti Construction company as crews began the final phase of renovation at the school, which involved demolishing an old administration building.
According to a press release, “As the construction crew began to prepare the site, they followed the masonic tradition of removing the building’s cornerstone before beginning their demolition. The large cornerstone, which was dated 1964, had the following words engraved into its center: ‘This Cornerstone laid by Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons Florida’ and ‘AL 5964’ in the left-hand corner. As the crew removed the stone, they found a large weathered copper box hidden in the foundation of the building. Very quickly the crew realized they had found a time capsule and alerted MCHS Principal, Alfred Fabrizio.”
The time capsule is thought to have been placed by the graduating class of 1964, which was the first one to graduate from Martin County High School, after students moved there from the former Stuart High School.
The school hosted a ceremony last week, which was attended by Superintendent Laurie J. Gaylord, members of the Class of 1964 and Principal Fabrizio to open the 53-year-old box, and members of the public celebrated the event with current students of the school.
“It was definitely a fun event, and a feel-good event and honored the school’s legacy,” said Jamie Adcock, the MCSD’s public information and community relations specialist. “It gave us an idea of where the school got started, because it was brand new and they were the first graduating class. These were very exciting times for them.”
Inside the box was a variety of objects, including several objects placed there by the local Masonic Lodge, like a formal, ritualistic letter and period photos of organization members. Also, there were other items of the times such as magazines such as Time and Reader’s Digest, along with newspapers from Stuart and Jensen Beach’s old publication, The Mirror. A class list was included in the capsule – which was interesting to all the former classmates who attended the event – and certificates from school organizations and books from that time period.
“There were about 12 members from the Class of 1964 who were there, and that was very cool,” Ms. Adcock said. “It was a good representation of the times back then, especially with the newspapers. They were yellowed and musty smelling, but everything was readable and we were able to open up the envelopes and see the pictures.
“We had people of all ages there and it was really neat to see.”
Mr. Fabrizio kept the box close by as he hosted an open house presentation for students and their families, and he brought it along with him at teacher in-service days and student assemblies.
“He challenged each audience to reflect on the legacy they were leaving behind: What would their time capsule contain? What would it say about them?” the press release continued. “This is an important treasure for MCHS which contains a piece of history from 53 years ago.”
For more information about the Martin County School District, please visit www.martinschools.org/pages/Martin_County_School_District or call 772-219-1200.