MONROE - Brett Nafzger remembers burying the time capsule in the school prairie behind what's now called Abraham Lincoln Accelerated Learning Academy.
Eight years ago, when the school was called Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, Nafzger was in fourth grade. As part of an Earth Day celebration, he and his classmates placed small personal items along with handwritten notes inside plastic bags. The bags were put inside a stainless steel milking machine pail, which then was buried several feet deep in the ground and the hole capped off with cement.
Just minutes before digging the time capsule up Tuesday, the Monroe High School senior couldn't remember what he put inside the container.
"I remember we did it, but I have no clue what it is," Nafzger said of his time capsule offering.
He wasn't alone: Most of the dozen or so seniors who returned to the prairie to retrieve the capsule couldn't recall exactly what their 10-year-old brains might have considered worth saving.
The project was a way to commemorate Earth Day, said former fourth-grade teacher Donna Bahler. The Prairie Bluff Chapter of Prairie Enthusiasts had planted the prairie the year before and built an effigy mound in the shape of an eagle. The time capsule was a hands-on activity that incorporated writing, language and science in a way meant to inspire pleasant memories for the students some day in the future, she said.
And that's just what seniors found.
After digging a few feet, they retrieved the buried treasure. The contents of the time capsule brought a few squeals, a few groans and a few smiles.
Melissa Hunt was amazed to find a "green squishy thing," a small creature she included. She couldn't remember exactly why she chose that item to represent the year 2000 except "I think I was fascinated by it," she said. "It sticks to windows, I think."
The seniors called out names of classmates not present and what they had buried. They passed around Matt Turek's swim goggles, and laughed at the pennies, dollar bills, photos and gel pens others had included.
Matt Frey was glad to see the battery he buried. He recalled the battery was his mother's idea.
"My mom wouldn't let me put anything of value in because she didn't think we'd get it back. I remember her scrounging around in the cupboard for something to give me," he said.
"My handwriting's still the same," he noted, referring to the note included in his plastic bag.
While not at the unearthing, Paul Albright's inclusion of two Monroe Times from late April 2000 provided a brief history lesson: One headline proclaimed Sen. John McCain had returned to Vietnam for the 25th anniversary of the war's end. Another headline announced the Pecatonica school district would be laying off teachers.
But perhaps the most prophetic momento was the Brett Favre holographic trading card that Nathan Haworth included.
The reason he wrote for including his "virtual Brett Favre card" was pretty simple:
"It will be worth a lot of money."
Eight years ago, when the school was called Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, Nafzger was in fourth grade. As part of an Earth Day celebration, he and his classmates placed small personal items along with handwritten notes inside plastic bags. The bags were put inside a stainless steel milking machine pail, which then was buried several feet deep in the ground and the hole capped off with cement.
Just minutes before digging the time capsule up Tuesday, the Monroe High School senior couldn't remember what he put inside the container.
"I remember we did it, but I have no clue what it is," Nafzger said of his time capsule offering.
He wasn't alone: Most of the dozen or so seniors who returned to the prairie to retrieve the capsule couldn't recall exactly what their 10-year-old brains might have considered worth saving.
The project was a way to commemorate Earth Day, said former fourth-grade teacher Donna Bahler. The Prairie Bluff Chapter of Prairie Enthusiasts had planted the prairie the year before and built an effigy mound in the shape of an eagle. The time capsule was a hands-on activity that incorporated writing, language and science in a way meant to inspire pleasant memories for the students some day in the future, she said.
And that's just what seniors found.
After digging a few feet, they retrieved the buried treasure. The contents of the time capsule brought a few squeals, a few groans and a few smiles.
Melissa Hunt was amazed to find a "green squishy thing," a small creature she included. She couldn't remember exactly why she chose that item to represent the year 2000 except "I think I was fascinated by it," she said. "It sticks to windows, I think."
The seniors called out names of classmates not present and what they had buried. They passed around Matt Turek's swim goggles, and laughed at the pennies, dollar bills, photos and gel pens others had included.
Matt Frey was glad to see the battery he buried. He recalled the battery was his mother's idea.
"My mom wouldn't let me put anything of value in because she didn't think we'd get it back. I remember her scrounging around in the cupboard for something to give me," he said.
"My handwriting's still the same," he noted, referring to the note included in his plastic bag.
While not at the unearthing, Paul Albright's inclusion of two Monroe Times from late April 2000 provided a brief history lesson: One headline proclaimed Sen. John McCain had returned to Vietnam for the 25th anniversary of the war's end. Another headline announced the Pecatonica school district would be laying off teachers.
But perhaps the most prophetic momento was the Brett Favre holographic trading card that Nathan Haworth included.
The reason he wrote for including his "virtual Brett Favre card" was pretty simple:
"It will be worth a lot of money."