By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
What will people be interested in knowing 50 years from today about Sitka and its people?
What would you like them to know about Sitka, in its 50th year of incorporation?
And can it all be captured in an archival “time capsule” box measuring .58 cubic feet?
Those are a few questions City Public and Government Relations Director Melissa Henshaw has been thinking about as she plans one of the projects associated with the 50th anniversary of the unification of Sitka. She is asking for the public’s help on the project.
“I haven’t had much interest yet,” she said, adding, “I’ve already had multiple people tell me I have to put a mask in there. ... The idea is to get a glimpse of what Sitka was like in 2021. It’s our goal to capture a day in the life during 2021.”
City of Sitka Public and Government Relations Director Melissa Henshaw holds up a picture of a time capsule vault behind a few objects, such as cloth masks and a new city seal, that might go into it today in her office. The city is asking the public to suggest items to place inside the capsule. (Sentinel Photo)
The city has budgeted $5,000 for a commemoration, but the pandemic is curtailing any sort of broad celebration or group gatherings, Henshaw said. The time capsule is one of the projects in the works as an alternative to a communitywide commemoration.
“We decided to go with alternative celebratory ways, instead of gatherings, as recommended by the Emergency Operations Center,” Henshaw said. “We thought this was a good way to honor the 50th year of incorporation.”
The Sitka Historical Society is working on a timeline display of Sitka’s first 50 years, in addition to agreeing to store the time capsule. The timeline will be displayed in the William Stortz Gallery, on the second floor of city hall.
The archival fireproof heavy-duty box, made of composite material, cost around $500, and measures 14.7 inches by 12.7 inches by 5.3 inches – just .58 cubic feet.
Sitka History Museum curator Nicole Fiorino said it’s the common items of the day that are sometimes the most valuable, such as a gas receipt, as opposed to someone’s favorite video game.
“That’s not quite as telling – they (the people of the future) want to know what everyday life was like, so those objects are really the most important,” she said.
Historical Society executive director Hal Spackman said the 50-year observance has made him reflect on the things that existed 50 years ago that are no longer around – rotary phones, pull tabs on cans – “those things were everywhere” - and cigarette ads on TV.
“The minimum wage was higher than today when adjusted for inflation,” he said.
But he said he thinks the time capsule project is more about the process than the object itself, or what actually makes the cut for the box.
“It’s about a process, the process of looking inward and seeing what defines a community today,” he said. “And I think that’s a strength of a time capsule.”
Sheldon Jackson Museum curator Jacqueline Fernandez-Hamberg said that in museums and historical organizations she’s worked for, “50 years is a short window.” Some, like the SJ Museum and natural history museums, have exhibits going back hundreds or thousands of years.
“The most compelling artifacts I’ve come across are the ones with the most background information, the provenance,” she said. “So if you put anything into the capsule, it should have the background information: what it is, what its purpose is, how it’s used, who it belonged to, and why you put it in. Trying to be as personal and intentional as possible answering those questions.”
Fernandez-Hamberg said it might be interesting and valuable to ask a broad cross-section of Sitkans – representing the demographics of today – to write a letter to “your future self.”
“That letter might capture the writer’s hopes or concerns, or it could be left open-ended and express whatever the author wanted to share,” she said. “People will be fascinated by the pandemic but it shouldn’t overshadow everything else. People are so focused on the pandemic that other things - like climate change - can fall by the wayside.”
The Sitka Home Rule Charter was ratified by a vote of the people in a special election September 28, 1971. The vote was 699 to 303 in favor of ratifying the Charter. A second question asked voters whether the mayor would be elected directly by voters or fellow Assembly members. The vote was 653 in favor of voters choosing the mayor, versus 280 for the other option.
In a special election Nov. 2, John Dapcevich was elected the first mayor and Ben Grussendorf Jr., Ted Fredrick, Kenneth Marvin, J.M. MacDonald, Gordon Whitcomb and Earl Richards were chosen as Assembly members. The five School Board members elected were August Anderson, Marilyn Hanson, Rebecca Holmes, Lester Radach and Louis Jensen.
The charter was adopted December 2, 1971. It placed the City of Sitka and the Greater Sitka Borough, which included Mt. Edgecumbe, Baranof Warm Springs and Port Alexander into a single unified government. Port Alexander later detached itself and organized as a second class city.
Henshaw said among the ideas for the time capsule include photographs, essays or poems by elementary school children, anecdotal story recordings from citizens, and artifacts or various items representing Sitka.
Those who have items to donate are to contact Public and Government Relations Director, Melissa Henshaw at 747-1824 or melissa.henshaw@cityofsitka.org.
