ECOTARIUM TO UNEARTH 40-YEAR-OLD LIONS TIME CAPSULE
When: November 27, 2022 at 11:00 AM
Where: 222 Harrington Way, Worcester MA 01604
Media and Public Invited
Where: 222 Harrington Way, Worcester MA 01604
Media and Public Invited
Whether it’s a message in a bottle washed to shore on a high tide or a time capsule dug out of the ground, the mysteries within are as irresistible as the last pages of a bestselling whodunit. Everyone wants to know: What’s in there?
On Sunday, November 27, at 11 a.m., the EcoTarium Museum of Science and Nature will carefully unearth a 40-year-old time capsule buried on its property. All are invited to look on and peer in. The time capsule’s contents are an unknown. But it’s likely filled to the brim with memorabilia thoughtfully curated by the Worcester Host Lions Club back in November 1982.
“The Lions Club time capsule is buried at the center of the compass rose at the EcoTarium,” said Noreen Johnson Smith, President and CEO of the EcoTarium. “No one at the Museum knows what is in the time capsule. We are excited to take a peek into the past.”
“People decide to put certain things away and come back, 40 years later, to see what was then and compare with what is now,” says Marianna Riemer, the Lions Club district governor of District 33A, Central Massachusetts. “The articles people put into time capsules are things that they are familiar with at the time but have long since forgotten. We come back and the big question is, ‘What was it like 40 years ago?’ ”
Forty years ago in November, Michael Jackson released one of the bestselling albums of all time, “Thriller.” The hugely popular Steven Spielberg movie, “ET,” made its debut. And Time magazine chose the computer as “Man of the Year.” Prices, by today’s standards, are shocking. Gas was 91 cents a gallon and you could buy a loaf of white bread for 50 cents.
But the time capsule contents buried at the EcoTarium, adjacent to the sundial, will deliver a much more intimate glimpse into Worcester as it was 40 years ago. Sandwich bread is one thing, but mementoes from a beloved grandparent are sacred.
“The time capsule was put there for our history,” says Michael Camarda, a long time Lions Club member and son of the Past international director, Joseph Camarda. His grandfather, Frank Johnson, was past district governor and put items into the capsule for each of his grandchildren including Michael.
“It’s exciting,” says 65-year-old Michael. “Everyone wanted to put something in there. People wrote letters to their grandkids, that sort of thing. As for what my grandfather put in there for me, it will be interesting to see what it is.”
Michael was one of a crowd of about 50 people the day the capsule was buried. He wasn’t close enough to actually see the capsule and he has no idea what was packed inside. The EcoTarium plans to mount a live camera feed so that people can see, in real time, as the capsule is dug up and opened.
“We are excited to unveil the time capsule,” says Kerry Castorano, the EcoTarium’s Vice President of Institutional Advancement. The capsule’s location at the sun dial is a fitting spot. Time passes and sundials mark that passage. But some things, like a grandfather’s affection for his family as expressed in a series of handwritten letters, never change. The time capsule buried below will mark the changes and the constants Worcester has experienced since 1982.
The Lions Club has since disbanded in Worcester, but attempts are currently underway to start a new Lions Club in Worcester. The Lions Club, says Camarda and Marianna Riemer, is the largest humanitarian organization in the world and every penny raised is put back into the community. It’s motto is We Serve. Among the causes it supports are vision, the environment, pediatric cancer, hunger, diabetes, youth, and disaster relief. Anyone who is interested in finding more information about the New Worcester Club can email to 33Adisgov@gmail.com or call 978-592-3090.
“I became a member in 1985,” says Camarda. “The work was very rewarding. We helped people out and made a difference in people’s lives. And I build relationships that have lasted. Worcester could use another organization like the Lions Club.”
On Sunday, November 27, at 11 a.m., the EcoTarium Museum of Science and Nature will carefully unearth a 40-year-old time capsule buried on its property. All are invited to look on and peer in. The time capsule’s contents are an unknown. But it’s likely filled to the brim with memorabilia thoughtfully curated by the Worcester Host Lions Club back in November 1982.
“The Lions Club time capsule is buried at the center of the compass rose at the EcoTarium,” said Noreen Johnson Smith, President and CEO of the EcoTarium. “No one at the Museum knows what is in the time capsule. We are excited to take a peek into the past.”
“People decide to put certain things away and come back, 40 years later, to see what was then and compare with what is now,” says Marianna Riemer, the Lions Club district governor of District 33A, Central Massachusetts. “The articles people put into time capsules are things that they are familiar with at the time but have long since forgotten. We come back and the big question is, ‘What was it like 40 years ago?’ ”
Forty years ago in November, Michael Jackson released one of the bestselling albums of all time, “Thriller.” The hugely popular Steven Spielberg movie, “ET,” made its debut. And Time magazine chose the computer as “Man of the Year.” Prices, by today’s standards, are shocking. Gas was 91 cents a gallon and you could buy a loaf of white bread for 50 cents.
But the time capsule contents buried at the EcoTarium, adjacent to the sundial, will deliver a much more intimate glimpse into Worcester as it was 40 years ago. Sandwich bread is one thing, but mementoes from a beloved grandparent are sacred.
“The time capsule was put there for our history,” says Michael Camarda, a long time Lions Club member and son of the Past international director, Joseph Camarda. His grandfather, Frank Johnson, was past district governor and put items into the capsule for each of his grandchildren including Michael.
“It’s exciting,” says 65-year-old Michael. “Everyone wanted to put something in there. People wrote letters to their grandkids, that sort of thing. As for what my grandfather put in there for me, it will be interesting to see what it is.”
Michael was one of a crowd of about 50 people the day the capsule was buried. He wasn’t close enough to actually see the capsule and he has no idea what was packed inside. The EcoTarium plans to mount a live camera feed so that people can see, in real time, as the capsule is dug up and opened.
“We are excited to unveil the time capsule,” says Kerry Castorano, the EcoTarium’s Vice President of Institutional Advancement. The capsule’s location at the sun dial is a fitting spot. Time passes and sundials mark that passage. But some things, like a grandfather’s affection for his family as expressed in a series of handwritten letters, never change. The time capsule buried below will mark the changes and the constants Worcester has experienced since 1982.
The Lions Club has since disbanded in Worcester, but attempts are currently underway to start a new Lions Club in Worcester. The Lions Club, says Camarda and Marianna Riemer, is the largest humanitarian organization in the world and every penny raised is put back into the community. It’s motto is We Serve. Among the causes it supports are vision, the environment, pediatric cancer, hunger, diabetes, youth, and disaster relief. Anyone who is interested in finding more information about the New Worcester Club can email to 33Adisgov@gmail.com or call 978-592-3090.
“I became a member in 1985,” says Camarda. “The work was very rewarding. We helped people out and made a difference in people’s lives. And I build relationships that have lasted. Worcester could use another organization like the Lions Club.”