25 Years Later, Hodgkins Elementary Opens Time Capsule

HODGKINS, IL —On the final day of school, students at Hodgkins Elementary School were able to look into the past as Principal Emily Crement and school faculty opened up a 25-year-old time capsule.

It was one of the last activities of the school year as the La Grange District 105 school celebrated its 100-year anniversary.

The opening of the time capsule was split between two days, with kindergarten through third-graders viewing it on Wednesday and fourth- through sixth-graders viewing it on Friday.

On both days, students, along with current and retired faculty members, filed into the gymnasium and watched a presentation about the 1990s — sporting events, movies, TV shows, video games and technology. During the presentation, the students also got a glimpse of what their teachers looked like in 1997.

Afterward, the time capsule was opened. Crement invited faculty members to reveal a different artifact inside the capsule, a wooden box nearly four feet tall. The contents included a floppy disk and a D.A.R.E. water bottle, as well as items more closely connected to the school and community. These included a letter from the Hodgkins principal at that time, Paul Vorwick; a poem written by District 105 school board member and PTO President Kelly Young, then a 5th-grader; a newspaper clipping of a 1997 story about the school; and a T-shirt commemorating the 100-year anniversary of the founding of the Village of Hodgkins.

"I think it was particularly exciting when there was an artifact that was a member of their family so they could not only be proud of the history of their school, but proud of the history of their family," Crement said.

Students and faculty of each grade level then had the opportunity to present a bin they put together of items they believed students 25 years from now should know about. Some of these items included masks, hand sanitizers, Fortnite gift cards and their school’s lunch menu. They also created posters on different topics relating to 2022. They ranged from social media to Chicago professional sports teams. The bins and posters will be placed back into the time capsule for students in 2047 to see.

The time capsule opening was one of the many activities throughout the year, as students also had the opportunity to create a mural with help from a local artist, play with games and toys from 100 years ago and meet a Thomas Edison impersonator.