A Slice of Local School History

Last night (Tuesday, July 9, 2013) at its monthly school board meeting, the Mooresville Consolidated School Corporation (MCSC) opened the 1959 time capsule recovered from a cornerstone during renovations at Mooresville High School (MHS).  Courtesy of Susan Haynes, MCSC chief communications officer, we have some wonderful photos borrowed from the MHS Facebook page.  (Thanks to Ms. Haynes for the photo captions in quotation marks.)  Click the images to enlarge.

"We appreciate Mr. Jim Patrick carefully slicing through the copper while keeping the contents safe from harm." (Susan Haynes)

"We Opened It! The 1959 Time Capsule contained several editions of the Mooresville Times, a few articles from the Indianapolis Times, a building dedication brochure, a 1959 yearbook, the feasibility study for consolidating Mooresville-Brown Township, Madison Township, and Harrison Township Schools, a photo of the MHS gym being framed, and a typed copy of the original Mooresville High School Articles of Incorporation from the 1800s."  (Susan Haynes)

Members of the public and MHS alumni examine the time capsule's contents

"We were delighted to have Mr. J. Russell Lambert, a member of the 1959 Building Committee, in attendance. He didn't know what had been placed in the time capsule but found a newspaper article with his photo among the items."  (Susan Haynes)

"This article describes the building committee members signing 770 bonds of $1,000 each to finance the building of the new high school."  (Susan Haynes)

"The framework at the top of this photo is the wooden beams which made the MHS gym. The beams are still visible in the 1959 gym today."  (Susan Haynes)

"This article from the Indianapolis Times describes the school with headlines such as 'Shop Has Precision Equipment,' 'Modern Million Dollar School Is Pride of Citizens,' 'New School Has Large Library,' 'Counselor Puts pupils on Right Track,' 'Mooresville School Has Full-Time Nurse,' and 'Complete Curriculum in Commercial Subjects Is Offered.'" (Susan Haynes)

This important slice of local school history will be digitally preserved for future generations to enjoy.  Although there are no plans presently to install a new time capsule during the current MHS renovations, we think it would be a wonderful idea.  Folks in the 22nd century would surely like to see what was happening at our high school in 2013.