A piece of Western’s history was revealed Monday when a time capsule buried 50 years ago was opened to celebrate the 50th birthday of the Viking Union.
The time capsule, a copper box measuring approximately 12 inches long, 8 inches wide and 3 inches deep, was buried in 1959 behind the corresponding stone, located to the right of the doors of the Multipurpose Room near Vendors Row.
Bellingham Mayor Dan Pike, who is himself a 1994 Western alumnus and announced the opening of the time capsule, said it was good to use the time capsule to look back on the past while looking forward, to see what has been both successful and unsuccessful.
“We can learn from our past and be informed for our future,” Pike said.
Western junior Vanessa Handy said she did not know the Viking Union had a time capsule, but heard about it when she stopped by to get lunch.
“I always hear about time capsules being made but I always doubt they’ll be opened,” Handy said. “I didn’t even know we had one so it’s awesome to see it actually opened.”
Jim Schuster, director of the Viking Union, said there were only paper products inside the capsule, most of them folded to allow everything to fit.
“It was amazing how much stuff was in there,” Schuster said.
Inside were newspaper clips about the construction and the opening of the Viking Union, a copy of Klipsun, a copy of the student paper, then known as The Collegian, a copy of the blueprints for the Viking Union, a copy of the bid sheets for the Viking Union and a Willie Mays baseball card, worth approximately $500.
Also found inside the capsule was a letter from the first director of student activities for the Viking Union, Harold A. “Barney” Goltz, proposing what he thought the role of the Viking Union would be.
According to the letter, Goltz thought of the Viking Union as a “living room” for the college, and a “unifying force in the life of the college, cultivating an enduring regard for and to the college.”
Amy Armes, Viking Union Marketing Intern, said she and a committee for the Viking Union are in the process of creating a second time capsule to be buried, then opened again in another 50 years.
Arms has posted a discussion on Facebook and on the Viking Village forum asking students what they would like to see placed in the capsule.
Arms said she has already received e-mails from students with pictures they would like to see placed in the capsule, and has received suggestions to include items such as a Western ID card, a mix CD made by the KUGS radio station and a bag of local coffee.
Schuster said the 1959 time capsule will also be placed inside the new time capsule to be buried.
“It seemed like piece of history that we could share with people 50 years from now,” Schuster said. “Who knows, it may become a tradition.”
The exact location of the new time capsule has not yet been determined, but Chris Roselli, assistant director of Young Alumni and Student Programs, said it would likely be buried during one of the alumni reunion weekends during the upcoming summer because the capsule is not only important for current students, but for alumni as well.
“It’s important for current students to see what Western was once like, and for alumni to be able to revisit the experience they had [at Western],” Roselli said.
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