Credit: Priscilla Herdman
Creating a time capsule is a fun and meaningful way to preserve a snapshot of the present for future generations. The Pine Plains Free Library and Little Nine Partners Historical Society are working together to get a time capsule filled and buried for Pine Plains.
The idea to create a time capsule for the town began during the lead-up to the 2023 bicentennial anniversary of the incorporation of Pine Plains. The capsule will be buried this spring. Contributions for items to include in the time capsule are being sought from the community. In 50 years, it will be opened during the semiquincentennial — or 250th anniversary — of the birth of this changeable town.
What in the world will Pine Plains look like in 50 years? If you can imagine it, you can write about it!
Many photos of Pine Plains have been gathered but more are always welcome. Photos of the area as it is now will tell stories we can’t imagine. You could write a personal letter to the future generation of Pine Plains residents who will be opening the capsule, and include your predictions about the future!
The library and the historical society are working to fill the capsule with current newspapers and magazines, but it is the super-local and the personal that will have the most impact when the capsule is opened. We invite you to bring photographs of family, friends and significant events from in and around Pine Plains – the school, the beach, the Main Street, your backyard! It will all change, and visuals of how it really is right now will be funny and interesting to folks 50 years hence.
The project is also open to submissions of drawings, paintings, or other artwork created by residents. It’s pretty much a guarantee that somebody who submits something will have a relative still living in Pine Plains in 50 years – take this opportunity to send a message to the future.
Menus and brochures from local businesses would also be very welcome submissions. The library will make sure photos and papers are enclosed in archival sleeves. The time capsule is located at the library and is open for contributions.
If you have questions, your best bet is to contact Molly Salisbury at msalisbury@pineplainslibrary.org or to try to catch her at the library phone: 518-398-1927.