He’s seen it quite often, and at times, it’s expected.
But it never gets old.
Ed Scherrer, who is leading the team that is deconstructing the Lincoln School building at 1700 N. Locust, removed the cornerstone from the building on Tuesday and found inside what many people in his position often do — a time capsule.
“Usually when you have a cornerstone in an old building like this, you will have some kind of time capsule inside,” Scherrer, of Ameri-Source Services, said shortly after discovering the capsule. “It’s always interesting to see what’s inside.”
Terri Steele, of the city codes enforcement office, had the honors of opening the copper box placed tightly inside the cornerstone. What she, and others gathered around the box like kids around a Christmas tree, found was a piece of Pittsburg history — several pieces, actually. Copies of the Pittsburg Sun, Headlight and Booster newspapers, dated back to 1925 and 1926, were folded neatly inside and remain mostly undamaged. Also inside was a directory of Pittsburg public school employees at that time and a booklet outlining the costs of building the Lincoln School in the mid-1920s. According to the booklet, the total costs of the contracts to construct the school was $108,863.
Engraved on the cornerstone were the words, “Dedicated to the future citizens.”
Not too long after seeing the sun for the first time in more than 80 years, the time capsule was taken to the USD 250 district office. District officials said they have yet to decide what will be done with the documents found Tuesday.
Steele, who attended Lincoln School as a child, said she was amazed at the capsule discovery, adding that she has “a lot of memories from this place.”
The school, which closed in 1997, served as the home for the Family Resource Center until August when it moved to its new site at 1600 N. Walnut. As part of a loan agreement with the city, the building is to be torn down and the land it sits on will be deeded back to the city.
Little of the exterior of the building has been brought down, but when it does, more time capsules may be found. Teri Edwards, who attended Lincoln in the late 1960s, said she remembers putting items into a time capsule when she was in sixth grade.
“This is just awesome,” Edwards said of Tuesday’s discovery. “I really hope they find the one from my sixth grade class. I’m pretty sure it’s under the front steps.”
Monica Murnan, the Center’s executive director, said she has heard several stories about a time capsule from the 1960s, but did not know of the documents found Tuesday.
“That is really cool,” she said. “I’m going to check them out.”
Steele and Edwards said that while Tuesday’s find is “exciting,” they both have mixed emotions about their former school being brought down.
“I know it’s in rough shape,” Steele said, “but it’s sad to see it come down. It’s still a part of the community.”
Edwards said “it’s sad to see another part of history go down in Pittsburg.”
“We’ve lost a lot of historic buildings over the years,” she said. “It’s a little sad to see the school being torn down.”
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He’s seen it quite often, and at times, it’s expected.
But it never gets old.
Ed Scherrer, who is leading the team that is deconstructing the Lincoln School building at 1700 N. Locust, removed the cornerstone from the building on Tuesday and found inside what many people in his position often do — a time capsule.
“Usually when you have a cornerstone in an old building like this, you will have some kind of time capsule inside,” Scherrer, of Ameri-Source Services, said shortly after discovering the capsule. “It’s always interesting to see what’s inside.”
Terri Steele, of the city codes enforcement office, had the honors of opening the copper box placed tightly inside the cornerstone. What she, and others gathered around the box like kids around a Christmas tree, found was a piece of Pittsburg history — several pieces, actually. Copies of the Pittsburg Sun, Headlight and Booster newspapers, dated back to 1925 and 1926, were folded neatly inside and remain mostly undamaged. Also inside was a directory of Pittsburg public school employees at that time and a booklet outlining the costs of building the Lincoln School in the mid-1920s. According to the booklet, the total costs of the contracts to construct the school was $108,863.
Engraved on the cornerstone were the words, “Dedicated to the future citizens.”
Not too long after seeing the sun for the first time in more than 80 years, the time capsule was taken to the USD 250 district office. District officials said they have yet to decide what will be done with the documents found Tuesday.
Steele, who attended Lincoln School as a child, said she was amazed at the capsule discovery, adding that she has “a lot of memories from this place.”
The school, which closed in 1997, served as the home for the Family Resource Center until August when it moved to its new site at 1600 N. Walnut. As part of a loan agreement with the city, the building is to be torn down and the land it sits on will be deeded back to the city.
Little of the exterior of the building has been brought down, but when it does, more time capsules may be found. Teri Edwards, who attended Lincoln in the late 1960s, said she remembers putting items into a time capsule when she was in sixth grade.
“This is just awesome,” Edwards said of Tuesday’s discovery. “I really hope they find the one from my sixth grade class. I’m pretty sure it’s under the front steps.”
Monica Murnan, the Center’s executive director, said she has heard several stories about a time capsule from the 1960s, but did not know of the documents found Tuesday.
“That is really cool,” she said. “I’m going to check them out.”
Steele and Edwards said that while Tuesday’s find is “exciting,” they both have mixed emotions about their former school being brought down.
“I know it’s in rough shape,” Steele said, “but it’s sad to see it come down. It’s still a part of the community.”
Edwards said “it’s sad to see another part of history go down in Pittsburg.”
“We’ve lost a lot of historic buildings over the years,” she said. “It’s a little sad to see the school being torn down.”
