50 Year Anniversary of Meridian Elementary School
In 1967, Construction began on the new Meridian Elementary School in Meridian, California. I was in 7th grade at the time. The school was finished in time for the 1967-68 School year which began in September of 1967. I was a member of the 8th grade class in that year.
A. J. Hyatt was the principal at the time. Mr. Hyatt presided over the dedication of the school and the placement of a time capsule by the Free Masons.
On May 19 2018, 50 years later, the current administration of the school organized a 50th Anniversary event which would include a nice lunch and the opening of the time capsule.
To back up a bit, I have remembered the placement of the capsule for all of those 50 years. I remember because we scoured the old school as it was being torn down for a corner stone or time capsule that might have been placed when the old brick school was built. I placed a call to the current principal in 2017 alerting him to the fact that there was a time capsule and that it was approaching 50 years since its placement. I knew that if much more than 50 years were allowed to pass, no one would be here that remembers the first year of the school.
The principal and the 3rd and 4th grade teacher got the ball started and put out flyers and emails getting the town and the alumni alerted to the event. They also got with the local Free Masons to attend and preside over the opening of the capsule
Several students showed up as well as A.J. Hyatt Jr., who was the principal at the time. Here is a list of the students in attendance who started school in the new school in 1967
Gene Barber
Rita Longwill
Diane Phillips
Trish Weinrich
Carrie Weinrich
Tom Tomlinson
Susan Sanborn
Robbie Sanborn
Harold Giyer
Patti Brown
There were also some students from later years in attendance.
After a nice lunch, everyone gathered at the monument in front of the school. It was a concrete monument with two bronze plaques listing the principal and the school board at the time and another one showing the dedication by the Masonic Lodge. The time capsule had been placed under the top plaque, under the bell. The bell had been brought over from the old school. Earlier in the week the staff had sawed the concrete around the top plaque and prepared the cavity to be opened. Mr. Hyatt was given the honor to pry up the plaque and expose the tin box which contained the time capsule. The Free Masons held the plaque for some pictures and the tin box was opened by Mr. Hyatt. As we removed the tin cover of the box, we could see a clear plastic bag folded up in the bottom of the tin box. We opened the plastic bag and removed what appeared to be a folded aluminum foil package. The foil was decomposed. Inside the foil, there were 2 9 1/2 x 11 manilla envelopes sealed with a brad. Inside the envelopes were documents and two large bags of desiccant to absorb moisture.
The documents inside consisted of photos from the town and school at the time of the placement. There were also letters prepared by the local service organizations of the town at the time, with best wishes for the new school.
