Bay's time capsule seals Bicentennial history

The Bay Village Bicentennial time capsule will be buried on Oct. 9.

In a quiet, candle-lit ceremony, the Executive Committee of Bay’s Bicentennial has sealed the city’s 2010 Time Capsule.

The time capsule, which was on display during the two-day Bicentennial Celebration in Cahoon Memorial Park, stands 12.5 inches tall, 11 inches wide, and 20 inches long. The historic piece is meant to be opened during the city’s 300th birthday celebration in 2110 and will be placed and marked on this, the first anniversary of Bay’s 200th birthday.

The forty-seven-pound coated and water-proofed concrete vault is lined with copper and was specially designed and engraved by Carl Wetzig Jr., co-owner of the 58-year-old Avon Lake Sheet Metal Company located in neighboring Avon Lake.

On Oct. 9, 2011, the history-filled time capsule will be placed near the 1818 Cahoon family homestead in Cahoon Memorial Park. An engraved, black granite commemoration marker from Kotecki Family Memorials dedicated to the Bicentennial celebrations and citizens of Bay will be unveiled. The time capsule will be placed under the granite marker.

On Sunday afternoon, Oct. 9, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., cake and beverages will be served in Cahoon Memorial Park at the site of the commemorative marker. Residents and their guests can drop by, enjoy refreshments, and tour the Cahoon homestead. Docents and guides will be on hand for the free tours to answer your questions about Bay’s early years.

A limited-edition, signed and numbered print – one of 295, and exclusive to the Bay Village Historical Society – by Bay’s well-known artist, Thomas William Jones, will be awarded. The original, signed watercolor is available and priced from the artist for $22,000.

The imposing, black granite marker selected by the Bicentennial committee was approved for placement in the park on August 29, 2011, by the Cahoon Memorial Park Trustees. The marker and time capsule are expected to become an important part of Bay’s connection to the future.

Memorabilia was collected throughout the 2010 Bicentennial year for the capsule. Included are: U.S. coins dated 2010; two 11-inch twigs taken from the original Wisteria bush planted by the Cahoons and still growing in front of their Rose Hill home; city business cards submitted from some of City Council’s representatives with personal, hand-written messages on the back to folks one hundred years from now; and letters from educators in various Bay schools along with the three winning “Letters to the Future” contest submissions sponsored by the Bicentennial Executive Committee early in 2010. Those letters were written by John Suter, then-nine-year old Caroline Dannemiller and a relatively new Bay resident, Dianne Borowski. A copy of St. Raphael’s church bulletin from October 10 with its commemorative cover and article has also been added.

There are lists of residents, corporate donors and honoraria of Bicentennial donors contributing $100 or more to the memorable, fun-filled two-day October Bicentennial event that simply would not have happened without their generosity. There is a photo of the city’s Bicentennial quilt (on display at the Dwyer Memorial Senior Center) with a list of the quilters and a history and description of its creation. A Bicentennial flag is also included in the vault along with City Council’s resolution of designation of the flag as the Bicentennial standard. Additionally, there is a deck of historical playing cards and a large, brass Christmas Bicentennial ornament from the Historical Society along with other popular 2010 memorabilia of the day. A Bay resident donated a commemorative spoon from America’s 1976 Bicentennial that features our Community House (the old Cahoon barn) on its silver handle.

Of course, there are copies of the Westlake | Bay Village Observer dated October 5, 2010, and October 16, 2010, featuring so much of Bay’s history and a schedule of the events from Oct. 9 and 10 that attracted more than 5,500 Bayites. The program that was passed out to residents during the Sunday 10.10.10 events and a candle that was used in the “Celebration of Light” ecumenical service have also been included. In addition, the poster advertising the Bicentennial Events in businesses throughout Bay has also been included.

Contributors who made possible the new replica of the original 1882 cupola on the Cahoon barn will be listed and included with gratitude from the Bay Village Historical Society. The Society raised over $26,000 to celebrate this gift from the residents – it was illuminated on 10.10.10. to music and fireworks!  Some of the original architectural plans of the cupola have been added. Council minutes from April 19, 2010, along with the minutes of the Cahoon Memorial Park Trustees meeting of the same date have been added to give residents of 2110 an idea of some of the actions under consideration by city government in our time.

Throughout the year of Bicentennial celebrations, photos were taken to document the various activities. These commemorative photos will also become a part of the 2010 history for those residents of 2110 to peruse.

Although many other items and proclamations are included, the piece of history at the bottom of the capsule will be the actual Resolution No. 10-141 issued by City Council and signed by its president and our city’s mayor congratulating the Bicentennial Executive Committee, the many other committees, and Bay’s residents on a successful and well-planned celebration.