Romulus City Councilman William Wadsworth has plans for Oct. 25, 2035, the year he will celebrate his 90th birthday.
Wadsworth, the longest serving member of the Romulus City Council, told his fellow officials during a meeting last month that he wanted to inform them of a bit of history in the city. He explained the in 1985, during the sesquicentennial of the city, officials hosted multiple events and celebrations in the community. Among those events, he said, along with the 4th of July parade in the city, officials buried a time capsule intended to be opened on Oct. 25, 2035.
“They were trying to keep the history of the town going,” Wadsworth said. “That was the intent of the group at that time.”
The time capsule, which Wadswsorth described as a “small coffin” had an engraved monument stone marking the site of the burial, with the date it should be opened. He said he had seen a photo of those present at the burial, including Mary Ann Banks, Jimmy Raspberry, Pete Bergeron, Alan Lambert, Barry Baumann, and former Mayor Beverly McAnally. Wadsworth said it was McAnally who “pushed for the project.”
The capsule was apparently unearthed and removed during construction of the new 34th District Court building on the city hall campus.
Wadsworth said the former elected officials “really cared about this town and tried to keep the history going. It (the capsule) should never have been dug up.” Wadsworth asked Mayor Robert McCraight to ensure that the capsule is reburied as the former officials, many now deceased, intended.
McCraight immediately agreed noting that the capsule was “in good shape” and was presently stored at the DPW building.
“We will make sure we get that back in the ground as soon as possible. If we can't find the stone monument, we'll have another one made,” McCraight said.
Wadsworth thanked the mayor and said that during his long tenure on the counts, there were two things that he “took personally.”
“One was the deep well that will be there a long, long time and this right here. I think it is sinful that it was dug back up,” He noted that when the capsule was buried during the celebration in the city, there was something going on “every week in this town.” He said there was a 4th of July parade with the high school bands and floats and “it was a good day. It made you feel pride that you lived in town.”
Officials agreed that responsibility for opening the capsule will rest with those elected to the council at that time. Wadsworth explained that he had resolutions formally approved by past council members reminding them of the existence of the capsule and the opening date.
McCraight said that he would personally drive Wadsworth to the opening in 2035 to which the councilman responded with a smile, “I'll drive myself if I'm still around.”
