Residents of the Eckerd Living Center buried a time capsule on Sept. 11 with messages for future readers.
A decade from now, employees at Eckerd Living Center will dig up the ground at the nursing home’s outdoor recreation area and reveal the contents of a time capsule buried on September 11, 2024.
“We’ll dig it up in 10 years and the residents can see what’s in there,” said Eckerd Living Center Activities Director Stephanie McMahan.
The time capsule is full of personal messages from current residents of the assisted living home, which will now be carried into the future for others to read.
According to McMahan, the point of the time capsule was to give residents a way to leave an impact for the future.
“We decided to preserve messages from our residents, to give a little to the future,” she said. “We are connecting two eras in time. They each made a card that said their name, the year they were born, and some advice for the future generation, and they told a little about themselves.”
McMahan said the purpose of the time capsule was “not only to offer a glimpse in our lives, but to remind ourselves of the responsibility we bear related to shaping the future.”
“It gets them involved,” she added. “It helps them feel like they have an importance, that the experience they have are important enough to pass onto the next generation.”
Outside, about a dozen senior citizens of the Plateau buried all of their messages in the time capsule right after the morning’s ceremony in remembrance of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Eckerd resident Nadine Rowland said she enjoyed the ceremony.
“I think it’s a great idea,” she said. “I hope I’m here when they open it up. I hope things are better for America.”
Another resident, Alan Bennett, said his advice in the capsule was concise: “Be good to everyone.”