In 62 years, Warrenton residents of the future will get a chance to learn about the past and provide their own contributions to the future when a time capsule that was officially sealed Monday …
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In 62 years, Warrenton residents of the future will get a chance to learn about the past and provide their own contributions to the future when a time capsule that was officially sealed Monday morning is reopened on Sept. 17, 2087.
The sealing of the time capsule was part of an event connected with the dedication of the Charters of Freedom at the Tribute to Veterans Memorial in Warrenton last year on Memorial Day.
The Charters of Freedom include three of this nation’s founding documents – the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
According to Charters of Freedom Director of Communications Mike Unruh, who was on hand for the time capsule sealing event, the three founding documents are laser engraved on 60 pound bronze tablets and are displayed under bullet-proof glass.
Unruh said the reason for Monday’s event was connected to the original dedication of the Charters of Freedom that occurred last year.
“About a year after dedication, we take items we have collected over the past year,” Unruh said.
Those documents include letters from Warrenton residents discussing the importance of the documents being displayed in Warrenton, photos and newspaper articles of the history of the community, Unruh said. Those items are then placed in a stainless steel container and sealed in an airtight and water tight safe that is located at the rear of the Constitution display portion of the Charters of Freedom.
Unruh said the primary canister is sealed with two smaller secondary canisters that have a very important meaning.
He said the primary canister is to be opened on Constitution Day, Sept. 17, 2087, the 300th anniversary of the Constitution as part of a nationwide Charters of Freedom ceremony. He said inside the primary canister is a letter from Foundation Forward Inc.’s founders (the organization behind Charters of Freedom) instructing those opening the primary canister to collect items from 2087 and place those in a second canister. He said at that time all of the canisters will then be resealed in the vault and reopened on Constitution Day 2187. The same process will then be completed in 2187, and all items resealed until 2287, the 500th anniversary of the constitution.
“We are building a 300-year legacy for our organization, the community and our country,” Unruh said.
Around a dozen participants were present Monday for the time capsule sealing event.
The Charters of Freedom at the Tribute to Veterans Memorial is the first of its kind in Missouri.
Unruh said the Charters currently exist in 18 states and that the goal is to eventually have one in all 50 states. After that, the goal is to place the Charters of Freedom in all 3,142 counties in the U.S., Unruh said.
