Community Event | By Savannah Tradd
Windermere paused to listen to the past at April's Food Truck Night. A crowd of all ages gathered around an old metal box buried 50 years ago during the town’s 50th anniversary in 1975. Mayor Jim O’Brien welcomed everyone and invited notable guests to assist in opening it.
Inside were no headlines or treasures: a church bulletin, a Rotary Club program, and a typed letter from former mayor and town manager John Luff. Pages faded with time, but not with meaning. Among them was a corroded coin, unrecognizable at first — its surface worn smooth by decades of moisture. Centennial Committee member C.T. Allen has since confirmed it to be a 1969 Kennedy half dollar.
As the contents were read aloud, the crowd hushed. People leaned in. That’s the power of a time capsule — not in what it holds, but in what it evokes. Ordinary items became bridges across time, folded into paper, tucked into a box, and buried in the soil, trusting that a future generation would care enough to listen.
In the end, the time capsule wasn’t just about looking back. It was about honoring the future—and what it means to live in a town that values its heritage.
The contents are now on display in the Town Administration Building lobby.
