Time capsule, Soldiers & Sailors preserve history, honor armed forces

One hundred years from now, Americans will open a time capsule extracted from the cornerstone of Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall. One hundred years from now, Americans will open a time capsule extracted from the cornerstone of Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall — and many hope they’ll see better results than the last capsule yielded.

Although the last time capsule placed in the Soldiers & Sailors cornerstone in 1908 failed to preserve its artifacts until their retrieval a century later, the memorial’s staff chose to revive the tradition in Monday’s Memorial Day ceremony, at which local political figures including Mayor Luke Ravenstahl spoke to honor members of the armed forces.

Ravenstahl spoke at the ceremony to express his gratitude for those in the service. He explained that after spending a week with the Department of Defense as part of the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference that began in late April, he was amazed by the degree of dedication displayed by the armed forces.

“I can tell you our country is in good hands,” the mayor said.

Congressman Mike Doyle, D-Pittsburgh, shared his appreciation for the honor Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall pays to the veterans it commemorates.

“Today is the day we remember,” Doyle said. “Over a million men and women have given their lives fighting for this nation. This is our region’s way of saying we remember the men and women of this country. This building must never close.”

Much like Soldiers & Sailors, the time capsule’s purpose is to benefit future generations with knowledge of their history.

Casey Patterson, a senior staff assistant for Soldiers & Sailors, said that all the individual pieces placed inside the capsule form an exhaustive list exceeding 3 pages in length.

“We chose contents that tell our history,” she said.

The pieces chosen for preservation included regional sports items, such as the Steelers’ Terrible Towel, a hockey puck signed by the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby and a fragment of the roof of the Civic Arena, which was demolished this year.

Also placed inside were items showing the value of the Memorial itself, such as a CD containing WQED’s “Pittsburgh A to Z” index, which has Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall listed as the “S” entry.

Finally, Patterson said that there were papers and items included representing all of the conflicts throughout U.S. history back to the Civil War, as well as artifacts from each branch of the military.

Soldiers & Sailors President and CEO John F. McCabe described the contents of the century-old box opened in 2008 as a “blob.” But the new capsule, built by Tom Marak of Portersville, stands to prove more durable.

Marak, creator of Time Capsules Inc., vouches for the new capsule, which was provided by his company, explaining that it is made to last more than 1,000 years. He said that as time has progressed, so, too, has time-capsule technology.

“It nobody’s fault. That generation used anything — copper, lead — but it’s more complicated than that,” he said.

The new time capsule is made of 14 gauge stainless steel and filled with argon gas, an inert substance ensuring that artifacts won’t interact with the atmosphere and corrode.

“If I didn’t use gas, it would be nothing more than an expensive can,” Marak said.

With its contents now secured, hopefully to be rediscovered in 100 years, the time capsule stands to provide future residents of Pittsburgh with remnants of their past.

State Sen. Wayne Fontana, D-Pittsburgh, said he hoped future generations could benefit from seeing the fragment of time preserved in the capsule.

Fontana quoted Great Britain’s venerated war-time prime minister, Winston Churchill, saying, “The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.”

Pitt Chancellor Mark Nordenberg also attended the event. He expressed gratitude at the fellowship between the University and the memorial hall, recalling how more than 2,000 Pitt students joined the service during World War II.

“In war and in peace, Pitt has supported the military,” said Nordenberg, also mentioning the University’s ROTC programs.

Howard Pfeifer, a Pitt alumnus, Soldiers & Sailors board member and a veteran of the Merchant Marines, believes the future generation that opens the capsule will be one that has moved towards improvement on the present day. He suggested that, despite the economic troubles plaguing the nation, the future is bright.

“No matter what, things will happen,” Pfeifer, 88, said. “I hope we’ll be able to maintain our purpose [in the future] as a humanitarian nation. This country has been a godsend.”

Pfeifer himself donated a Merchant Marines pin to be included in the time capsule. And seeing the sharing of history as a valuable gift for the future nation, he also suggested that the future is closer than one might expect.

“Living as long as I have, I can tell you that time flies,” he said.