On July 15, 1984 the residents of Halifax buried a time capsule. It’s been said the site would be recorded in Plymouth and mentioned in the next year’s Town Report as well as in the Town Clerk’s Records of 1984. (No one remembers where the last time capsule, buried on July 5, 1934, was buried. Everyone had learned a lesson from that.)
The big question back then, as it is today is, “What happened to the 1934 records?” Some say they were buried in the front of the Town Hall. Some say they were buried at the base of the chimney at the United Church of Christ/Congregational Church. There are those that said they were never buried. Much search with Geiger counters and divinity rods was undertaken to no avail.
The Highway Surveyor at the time was Ralph Hayward and he was to see that the capsule’s cap was cemented in place. What everyone thought would take but a few minutes took an hour. The bottom of the cement case had water in it. The Fire Department came equipped with a generator and a pump, but it was not long enough so the next step the Fire Department took was to use a mop – it worked! The water was removed and finally the patient, hot and thirsty groups were rewarded with the capsule being lowered but up it came again – a rope was needed to lower it with ease. A bag of various items was also put in on top of the capsule which had such items as: Town Report; a letter from the White House; Telegram from Halifax, Nova Scotia; a program for the week’s activities; 1984 calendar; a tax bill; letter to citizens of 2034 to name a few. The cover was sealed with cement and now we wait until July 2034 when the town will celebrate it’s 300th Anniversary.