The Garfield Historical Society will be revealing the 100-year-old contents of Garrettsville’s time capsule during a fun-filled day of events titled ‘“The Great Reveal,” taking place on Saturday, July 6, 2024, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The events for the day of will include presentations by local personalities in period dress, an antique vehicle show including the 1929 Ward LaFrance fire truck, a beard contest and a community sing-along featuring a song written about Garrettsville in 1924; a historical walk will also take place from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
“I was there” T-shirts will be available for purchase, as well as a newly published book by Scott Lawless and Pam Montgomery featuring details about Garrettsville history. The Masonic lodge and the Garfield Historical Society Mott building will be open for tours, and local restaurants will be serving signature dishes and drinks.
The time capsule was installed in front of the old opera house on the corner of High Street and Maple Avenue by the Garrettsville Study Club in 1924. Although the opera house was razed in 1964, the time capsule remained in the same spot and was left untouched. It’s now sitting next to the village’s clock tower, which was constructed using the clock from the old opera house.
Although there is speculation among historical society members whether the contents of the time capsule have suffered from water damage throughout the years, hopes are high.
But the contents of the old time capsule aren’t the only antique remnants slated to be revealed on July 6. The Garrettsville maintenance department recently stumbled upon the lost tombstones of the founders of Garrettsville, John and Eleanor Garrett, which will be available for viewing during the historical walk.
“I get a call from the head of the maintenance department and he says, ‘Kit, we found these old tombstones in the bottom of the clock tower, and I think one might be John Garrett’s son,’” former Garfield Historical Society President Kit Semplak said. “Well, I know where John Garrett’s son’s tombstone is, so I didn’t know whose it would be, so I went and looked and here it was John Garrett, himself, and the 2nd box was Eleanor Garrett.”
The Garretts were the first two people to move to Garrettsville.
On Sept. 21, the historical society plans to install a new time capsule, for which it is currently seeking contributions from local residents.
“We’re asking people from the community to come in, use archival paper and archival pens and just write a letter,” Garfield Historical Society President Debbie Smith said. “It can be a full sheet, or a half sheet, about their predictions about 2104, which is when we’re going to open it.”
Contributors are encouraged to include family stories, childhood memories, words and phrases of the time, favorite scenic spots or whatever they want to write. Pictures will be accepted and possibly video files.
“Our saying is ‘Unveiling Our Roots and Finding a Glimpse of the Present for the Eyes of the Future,’” Smith said. “We’re trying to take everything from this present generation and capture it in this time capsule, so that when they open it in 80 years, at the 300th celebration, they can see, this is how we thought, this is what we favored, these are our favorite spots and see if those spots are even available.”
Garrettsville Mayor Rick Patrick and his wife, Linnette, contributed to the contents of the new time capsule with a video that will be stored on an M-DISC, which has a lifespan of 1,000 years.
“We did a video interview of me and my wife that’s going to be in there,” Patrick said. “They basically asked us about the past, present and future, about Garrettsville and how it’s progressed over the years.”
Patrick has lived in Garrettsville for 50 years, and his wife has lived there her entire life; both of them hope that Garrettsville maintains its small-town feel far into the future.
“Garrettsville’s small; it’s about two miles square,” Patrick said. “As far as the progression of buildings and that, all our housing developments we have right now are pretty much built out. We’re limited to land use for building, so I really don’t see it growing much that way. I don’t really see much change coming in the future; we try to, pretty much, keep it the way it is. We don’t want it to be a busy metropolis. We want it to have the small-town feeling. And no room for Walmarts.”
For more information, visit the Garrettsville Area Chamber of Commerce website at https://www.garrettsvillearea.com/events.
To help fund The Great Reveal event, send a money order to the Garfield Historical Society, P.O. Box 144, Garrettsville, Ohio 44231, or send a PayPal to [email protected].
To write a letter or provide other content for the time capsule, contact Smith at 330-389-1859.
