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Search for Niles school time capsule comes up empty
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Dave Taylor of Warren uses his metal detector to help search for the Niles McKinley Class of 1964 time capsule. A search Monday failed to turn up the capsule.
By Jordan Cohen
NILES
A huge search party armed with metal detectors and shovels uncovered a number of rusting artifacts Monday evening buried in the front lawn of the old Niles McKinley High School, but not the one everyone was looking for: the Class of 1964 time capsule.
“That thing has to be more than 3 feet deep because we should have been able to find it,” said Jim Martin of Brookfield, one of 11 members of the Tri-County Metal Detecting Club who volunteered to look for the capsule.
There are no written records identifying the location of the capsule, which was buried in May 1964 and thought to be near the imposing statue of William McKinley in the front of the building. Even members of the class disagree about the location.
“We’re all arguing about it,” said Joe Rossi, 67, now a Niles funeral director, who showed up along with several other class members. Rossi said he remembers the capsule being buried near the statue, but Joe Sankey of Champion disagreed.
“I think it was buried somewhere between the school entrance and the bell,” he said, referring to a casting of an 1871 bell from Niles Union School situated close to the building.
Rossi said he believes the capsule contains a yearbook, school memorabilia associated with the football team and some 45 rpm records, which were popular in 1964.
Club members formed a straight-line phalanx and moved slowly across the entire front lawn listening for tones from their metal detectors. Several enthusiastic McKinley seniors brought shovels and began digging each time metal was detected. Concrete near the statue had been removed to facilitate the search.
“Yes,” screamed Samantha Mayfield, one of the seniors, as she dug up a large metal object that turned out to be a screwdriver. The students and club members also unearthed a heavy-duty chain, steel bars and a key lock that may be more than 60 years old. Interim Superintendent Frank Danso plans to have the artifacts cleaned up and put on display in the new high school.
The search is fighting the clock. The old high school, which closed earlier this month, is scheduled to be demolished this summer, and Danso is concerned the capsule may never be recovered if it is not found before the wrecking ball arrives. The statue and bell are to be relocated to the new high school adjacent to the old building.
After more than an hour, the search ended, but Jesse James, the club president, said his members are not giving up.
“[The contractor] is going to remove a foot of the soil and the concrete so we may still be able to find it,” James said.
Danso said that might not happen for several weeks until asbestos removal from the old high school is completed. Though disappointed at the outcome, the superintendent said he was pleased with the turnout despite the drizzly weather.
“This is great for the entire community,” he said. “Once they scrape the soil, we’ll try again.”