Mount Union’s Time Capsule

Researched and compiled by Bricktown PA · Updated October 10, 2026

In 1976, Mount Union asked its residents to imagine a community they would not see for another 50 years. What should that future community know about them? What photographs, records, keepsakes, or personal messages should survive?

The answer became the Mount Union Area Bicentennial Committee’s time capsule, led by Robert Heath. It brought together local institutions and individual contributors—and assigned a special role to children born during America’s Bicentennial year.

The capsule was recovered and opened in September 2026. More than 100 people gathered at the Sharrar House on October 3 to see its contents and hear memories of the community. The Historical Society is accepting contributions for a successor capsule through December 3, 2026.

A project taking shape by June

The June 9, 1976 newspaper shows that the project was already under active discussion. Heath offered to donate the capsule and identified three possible locations: Mount Union’s oldest historical building, the Veterans Memorial at the IOOF Cemetery, and the Veterans Memorial at Green and Market streets. The report did not name the historical building, so it should not automatically be identified as the Sharrar House.

Heath wanted the contents to include news items and photographs documenting the Bicentennial Committee’s accomplishments. The committee discussed modest participation charges. His suggested schedule was $1 for a business envelope, $2 for an 8-by-10 envelope one-eighth inch thick, $3 for a cassette tape, $4 for 8 mm film, and $5 for an eight-track tape. These were proposed charges—not evidence that every format was ultimately deposited.

The committee authorized him to send invitations to churches, organizations, clubs, and businesses within the Mount Union Area School District and to proceed with preliminary arrangements. June 9, page 1; continuation, page 2

Inviting the wider community

By July 14, Heath had distributed printed project information. Mapleton Depot and Shirleysburg wanted to participate. Invitations would reach individuals, churches, fraternal organizations, lodges, veterans organizations, fire companies, and other groups; the proposed charges were described as helping cover expenses.

The outreach appears in other organizations’ meeting reports. On July 21, the Mount Union Northside Project Area Committee reported receiving Heath’s letter and information about costs, with action deferred to a later meeting. Mount Union Borough Council read a similar letter in August but took no action at that meeting. These records establish invitations and discussion, not confirmed contributions. July 14, page 5; July 21, page 1; July 21, page 16; August 10, page 11

During Festival ’76 Week, the project became a public display. The August 27 newspaper pictured Heath’s daughter, Kim, at an arts and crafts show at St. Catherine School. She staffed a display with a model capsule and suggestions for what residents could preserve. The display identified the two years connecting the project: 1976 and 2026. August 27 photograph, page 1; show coverage, page 3

A personal connection across 50 years

The September 15 report explained that contributors could identify a specific person to receive an item when the capsule was opened. The project could therefore carry both community records and something intended for a particular future recipient. The report does not establish which personal items were ultimately submitted.

At that stage, organizers were choosing ten babies to help open the capsule in 2026 with the Mount Union Area Historical Society. Their purpose was to connect that generation with the community into which it had been born.

September’s proposed burial location was the Veterans Memorial at the triangle at the east end of Market Street, subject to borough permission. By October, December 30 had been selected tentatively so the burial would occur before the Bicentennial year ended. More than 30 organizations, groups, and individuals had expressed an interest in participating. September 15 main article, archive page 27; October 13, page 1

What local groups planned to preserve

The smaller meeting reports give the capsule its human detail. They record plans and authorizations; they are not a verified inventory of the sealed contents.

Why the burial site changed

The November reports show that borough officials did not object in principle to the memorial-triangle location, but wanted the veterans organizations consulted. That should not be interpreted as evidence that veterans opposed the project. November 9, page 3; November 10, page 1

The December 16 report supplies the actual explanation missing from the earlier clippings: Heath recommended changing the location because of shrubbery and water lines at the Municipal Park memorial site. He suggested the speaker’s stand at the Mount Union IOOF Cemetery, and the committee agreed.

At the committee’s Tuesday meeting, reported December 16, Heath said 40 clubs, organizations, and individuals had provided items, with each placing four or five items. The committee also planned two copies of the contributor list—one inside the capsule and one for the historical society. The selected babies’ names would be announced on burial day. December 16, page 7

The final arrangements

By November, Heath had ordered a vault described as measuring 37 by 16 inches internally, and December 4 was the announced submission deadline. He would also donate a bronze plaque bearing the burial and opening dates. November 10, pages 1 and 11

The December 28 announcement fixed the burial for 11 a.m. on December 30 at the cemetery speaker’s stand. Winter weather led organizers to defer a formal dedication and plaque placement until a planned Memorial Day service. The reviewed material documents that plan, but does not establish that the later dedication took place.

The burial was to conclude the Bicentennial Committee’s work, with a January meeting to close its accounts and disband. The September 2026 report confirms December 30, 1976, as the actual burial date. December 28, page 1; continuation, page 6; 2026 report

The generation chosen to return

Byron Mantoan’s September 15, 2026 article identifies eleven people born in 1976 who were asked to retrieve the capsule and help distribute the contents to the contributing families and organizations:

• Adrienne Kauffman
• Patrick Goodman
• Natalie Giacobello
• Shannon Harbaugh
• Stephanie Hancock
• Tricia Kemp
• Heather Goodman
• Michael Biemesderfer
• Matthew Biemesderfer
• Stacy Estep
• Jessica Dimoff

These names are reproduced as listed in the 2026 report. The earlier planning articles repeatedly proposed ten babies; the reviewed sources do not explain when or why the final group became eleven. No maiden-name or birth-name identifications have been inferred. Source for all eleven names

Unearthed in September 2026

Borough workers recovered the capsule on Monday, September 14. Historical society member Tim Goodman was present. The metal container, painted to resemble an American flag, had been buried several feet deep beside MU Cemetery Road. It was moved to the Sharrar House that day.

The 2026 article identifies contributing organizations including Simpson-Hunt American Legion Post 107, Blue Juniata VFW 5754, the former school superintendent, the high school, the Red Cross, the Mount Union Bicentennial Committee, First National Bank of Mapleton, and the Mount Union Shakespeare Company.

The October 3 celebration

Becky Weikert’s October 6 follow-up reported that more than 100 people gathered at the Sharrar House for the public celebration. Society members had opened the capsule beforehand to inspect and sort its contents. Approximately 51 items were found, with 36 matched to contributing groups. Water and mud had damaged some material, while a book contributed by the Daughters of the American Revolution remained in excellent condition.

The recovered material included family photographs, church records, a 1976 Ilium yearbook and student handbook, borough records and audio recordings. The program recognized the generation born in 1976, and the Mount Union Area High School band performed the national anthem. The society also shared the names of its 62 charter members.

Contribute to the next capsule

The society plans a successor capsule to be opened in 25 years. Although the report also uses the word “buried,” Heather Goodman Himes said the plan is to keep it inside the building to protect the contents. A final placement date was not announced.

Items should be from Mount Union, submitted by Mount Union families, and no larger than 8.5 by 11 inches. Contributions may be taken to the Sharrar House during meetings at 6 p.m. on the first Thursday of the month. The deadline is Thursday, December 3, 2026; monetary donations are also welcome. The article gives a meeting time, not a separate deadline cutoff time. See the calendar for the November drop-off opportunity and December deadline.

Source: The Daily News, October 6, 2026, pp. 1, 3, “Mount Union history unveiled”.

Research scope and remaining questions

All 64 records in the 1976 Daily News search for “time capsule” were screened by their displayed titles and excerpts. Thirty records concerned Mount Union, including continuation pages and apparent duplicate/index-overlap records; relevant substantive passages were read in the newspaper scans or supplied clippings. The other 34 were unrelated capsules, general Bicentennial material, advertisements, columns, or false keyword matches. This is not a claim to have read all 64 unrelated articles in full.

NewspaperArchive sometimes assigns a viewer page number different from the printed page number, and sometimes attaches a neighboring headline to the relevant text. Those indexing errors are noted rather than silently treated as article titles.

Still unconfirmed: the original burial-day roster; why ten planned participants became eleven; whether the planned 1977 dedication occurred; the complete item-by-item inventory. The October 6 follow-up now documents the celebration, recovered contents and the next capsule’s contribution guidelines.