City officials unearth 1976 time capsule

Sonia Urquizu was 13 years old when she attended the burial of the 1976 time capsule at the Liberty Pole in Coleman Memorial Park with her brother and mother.

On Wednesday morning, Urquizu, who lives in Riverside, California, was present – along with about a dozen or so other individuals who were present in 1976 – to see the time capsule unearthed.

“So we moved from Lebanon, Pennsylvania, in 1977 … and I always had it in the back of my mind that this was gonna happen,” Urquizu said. “I’ve been telling my husband probably for the last 15, 20 years that I would love to come back out here and see the unearthing of the capsule.”

Another repeat attendee was Jon Ensminger of Avon Park, Florida. 

“I was here when they buried it. But this was like half an hour. That was an all-day event,” Ensminger said, also noting he participated locally in the 1976 nationwide wagon train that passed through Lebanon County during the bicentennial. “At that time, I was involved in a revolutionary group, reenactment group, a hand-over-rifle battalion. And we marched with that group when it entered Lebanon County.”

The Bridging Three Generations program was held Wednesday at the Liberty Pole in Coleman Memorial Park, which is where the time capsule was buried, as part of the America250 celebration in Lebanon County.

Wednesday’s ceremony was day one of two celebrations. Today, city officials will rededicate the Declaration of Independence at a special city council session at 4:45 p.m., and the public is invited to attend and sign a special document during the meeting.

Midway into Wednesday’s program, two city public works employees – Ryan Weidman and Nick Troain – began excavating the time capsule, which was buried several feet at the base of the Liberty Pole.

“It’s an honor, it’s a big moment,” said Troain. Weidman agreed it was a “very large moment.”   

“Our boss asked the whole shop who would be willing to do it and we were the first two guys to answer,” said Weidman. “So it’s definitely an honor. I mean, it was very hard. There’s actually a cage with some steel down at the bottom with bricks that were encased around it to actually keep the capsule in place, so it was quite a lot of work.”

After a group of dignitaries took gold-plated shovels to the ground in a ceremonial dig, Weidman and Troain got to work, cutting through the ground and throwing up shovels of soil, which, at times, contained whole or fragmented bricks.

City mayor and master of ceremonies Sherry Capello said she had comments to make, but waited since the capsule was ready to be removed from its earthen tomb. 

“I didn’t realize it was going to be painted red, white, and blue like the Liberty Pole,” Capello told the audience upon first blush. “Because (in) the black and white photos, it makes it look like it’s black and white. That’s cool. It’s also bigger than I thought.”

In kicking off the 45-minute ceremony, Capello mentioned the 1976 Bicentennial Committee entrusting the capsule to future generations over a 100-year period. 

“Today we gather at a place that has quietly held a message from the past for 50 years. Beneath this ground rests a capsule buried during our nation’s bicentennial celebration in 1976, a gift from one generation to another entrusted to the future with the hope that someday it would be opened and remembered,” Capello said. “Today we play a part in bridging the generations from 1976 to 2026 to 2076.”

Capello noted this celebration was part of connecting American generations during celebrations of the nation’s history.

“As we celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, we have the rare privilege of standing at the intersection of three generations of history,” said Capello. “Our theme, ‘Bridging Three Generations,’ reminds us that every generation has a responsibility to not only honor the past, but also to shape the future.”

Capello noted the generational goals of local residents in 1776 when the nation was founded and in 1976 that marked the bicentennial.

“In 1776, our founders took a bold step towards independence, creating a vision of liberty and self-government that continues to inspire us today,” she said. “As America celebrated its 200th birthday in 1976, the residents of Lebanon looked both backward and forward. They reflected on two centuries of American progress and carefully selected items that captured daily life, community values, and their hopes for the future. They buried those memories here with the belief that future generations would someday uncover them and learn from their story.”

In 2026, that vision remains as true today as it did 50 years ago.

“Now, in 2026, it’s our turn. We pause to reflect on how much has changed in 50 years,” said Capello. “Lebanon has evolved, grown, and adapted through many challenges and new opportunities. Yet many things remain unchanged, our pride in this community, our commitment to one another, and our belief that the best days of Lebanon are still ahead.

“Although we are unearthing the time capsule today, so we may add items into the capsule for its final opening on our country’s tricentennial anniversary, we are not simply digging up a container of artifacts. We are opening a conversation across generations. The items placed inside by our predecessors provide us with a glimpse into their world, their concerns, their accomplishments, their traditions, and their dreams for the future.”

Capello noted the 1976 capsule items include letters from community leaders, such as one from the bicentennial committee chair to the tricentennial chair, maps, citations, a $2 bill, a bicentennial wooden nickel, a bicentennial stamp, pins, a Lebanon City seal, a ticket to a town meeting, and a copy of the Declaration of Independence with a rededication clause containing 1,500 signatures, among other artifacts. 

“As we consider those treasures from 1976, we should ask ourselves, what story will we leave behind? What will future generations think about the Lebanon we know today? What lessons, memories, achievements, and hopes should we preserve for the citizens who will gather here 50 years from now?” asked Capello.

“In today’s unearthing, new items representing life in 2026 will be added to the capsule or to a larger capsule and it will be reburied to be opened again in 2076 when America celebrates its 300th birthday,” said Capello. “Among those items will be messages from today’s residents, students, businesses, organizations and community leaders. Our collective gift to the future.”

Nancy Gates, executive director of Visit Lebanon Valley, mentioned some of the 2026 items to be placed in a separate time capsule and buried next to the 1976 capsule. 

She said the committee’s five wooden history trail nickels, a commemorative patch honoring local veterans, a 2026 semiquincentennial silver proof set from the U.S. Mint, the county’s 250th anniversary pin, and a 66-page 250th anniversary commemorative program for Lebanon County’s celebration will be sealed in the new time capsule for unveiling in 2076.

“So 50 years from now in 2076 as our community gathers here to commemorate the tricentennial by opening this year’s time capsule, we hope that future generations will discover a community that was proud of our history and united in celebrating this once in a generation milestone,” Gates said. 

Other speakers included Bonnie Loy, chair of the Lebanon County 250th Anniversary Committee, who presented highlights of the upcoming July 4 celebration, and Shane Keenan, archivist at the Lebanon County Historical Society, who addressed the role of county residents during the War of Independence.

Throughout the planning of the 250th anniversary celebration, LebTown has provided ongoing coverage of events and compiled articles on local history to commemorate this special anniversary celebration. Our extensive list of stories can be found here.