time

For immediate release
March 1, 2000

ONE HUNDRED-YEAR-OLD TIME CAPSULE AT THE OLDEST AMERICAN INSTITUTION FOR WOMEN'S HIGHER EDUCATION TO BE OPENED MARCH 31 at 7:00 PM

Locked, Solid Wood Box with Brass Plaque Holds Messages to the Class of 2000 from the Graduates of 1900 at Mount Holyoke College

SOUTH HADLEY, Massachusetts—On the evening of March 31, Mount Holyoke College will crack open a small wooden box that has been stowed away for the last 100 years.

Made of a handsome dark wood and the size of a bread box, the time capsule was created in 1900 by the senior class of that year for the graduating class of 2000. The time capsule was featured in the commencement exercises that took place 100 years ago at the elite women's college in South Hadley, Mass. A letter in the box reveals the bonds between students then and now, as well as the ongoing hopes and fears of American women over the last century.

According to the president of Mount Holyoke's current senior class, Sara Hines, the time capsule opening is a "celebration of the gift of history. The class of 2000 at Mount Holyoke is really excited about playing a pivotal role in the opening's ceremony. That 100 years ago our foremothers were thinking about our class is truly amazing." Hines and other members of the class of 2000 have made all the event arrangements, including plans to exhibit the capsule's contents following its opening this month. Little is known about the contents of the box, but its travels over the last century have been documented through the College's archives.

In a letter written in 1950 from a member of the class of 1900, Bertha N. Meserve, to Jane Holland, one of three women from the class of 1950 who were named to be on hand for next month's opening, the contents of the box are described as "filled with various class records and souvenirs."

Links to the Class of 1900
Fifty years ago, three women from the then freshly graduated class of 1950 were selected as trustees of the time capsule. Although one has died, two of the women, Ruth Craig Morales of Northampton, Mass. and Cornelia Brown Pomeroy of Worcester, Mass., will be on hand. Pomeroy explains that she was picked as a time capsule trustee because she lived in the same area as the class of 1900's secretary. Morales says that she and Jane Holland were selected because they were high school English students of a member of the class of 1900 and were recommended because of that personal connection.

The Next 100 Years
The class of 2000, in turn, is planning to dedicate a time capsule, perhaps reusing the wooden box from 1900, to the class of 2100. The ceremony for this next piece of history will be held May 20 on campus during the College's festive commencement weekend. Seniors are currently being polled to find out what they think should be placed in the box. Hines expects that a class picture will be included.

Exhibit
In order to share the contents of the opened time capsule with the public and Mount Holyoke alumnae returning to campus, an exhibit will be put on display in the library. The display is scheduled to open before May, so that it is highlighted as part of the College's commencement activities.

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