Though the paper is slightly yellowed
and stained in places, the text of the Nov. 18, 1914 Nogales Daily Herald and
the Nov. 16, 1914 Tucson Citizen is likely as clear as the days they were
printed more than a century ago.
Both editions, pulled from the time
capsule removed earlier this month from the cornerstone of the Old City Hall
building, had updates on World War I, then in its first months. Along the
bottom of the Herald’s front page was news about Mexican Revolution battles
crossing over into Naco, Ariz.
“Dick Reynolds shot at Naco last night,”
one headline reads. “Fighting resumes at Naco this morning,” says another.
Stuffed into the hardback-sized metal
container along with the newspapers were a number of colored Nogales postcards,
featuring landmarks that still stand today, like the 1904 Courthouse, the
town’s first high school, and the old Santa Cruz River pump house.
“The imagery is just awesome,” said
Teresa Leal, curator of the Pimeria Alta Museum.
The time capsule also contained a fair
amount of firefighter memorabilia, due to the fact that it was volunteer
firefighters who placed it and built the building, which now houses the Pimeria
Alta Museum. There are several black-and-white photos of the 42-man operation,
an engine badge and a couple buttons, as well as several documents with
information about the firefighters.
“It’s amazing how much they fit into
that tiny box,” Leal said.
Getting that box open was no small
accomplishment, said Faith Posey, a museum volunteer who carefully got the
contents out late last week. Posey said the whole process took more than
two-and-a-half hours.
“You have to be careful that you don’t
damage anything on the inside,” she said.
Before beginning, Leal sought the
counsel of the Arizona Historical Society, who recommended that those tasked
with opening it “shoot for a worst-case scenario,” Leal recounted. That
worst-case scenario could include intense damage from acids built up in the
box, toxic fumes or any number of other issues that stem from century-long
storage.
Assuming the worst “will guide you to
take extra care,” Leal said.
After slowly peeling a corner away with
a hacksaw last week, Posey got an idea of how the soldered box was put together
and then cautiously broke the edges and peeled the short ends open with her
lead knife. Glimpsing the inside, she saw that the worst had not come to pass.
With a pair of tweezers, she pulled the
contents out inch by inch and could feel the tension rising in the room.
“It was interesting to see the
excitement building among the people present,” she said of Leal and other
members of the museum’s board who were there for the occasion.
After going through quite a process with
this capsule, Leal said, the museum will be doing things a bit differently with
the next one, which they plan on putting in the same place in November. For
one, they’ll likely have a small safe for the capsule. More importantly, Leal
said, they’ll include “instructions on how you open it. We didn’t have that and
it was quite a risk.”
Leal said the postcards, photos and
documents will soon be placed in an acid-free plastic sleeve to better preserve
them.
The capsule’s contents are now on public
display at the museum, which is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4
p.m.
Time Capsule Contents
Old City Hall
Border Photos
USS Arizona
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