Engraved on a marble slab atop freshly shoveled dirt is the following description: "A steel time capsule was buried here on January 5, 2021. It is to be opened on January 5, 2071."
The items that were placed in the time-capsule include:
A copy of the December 30, 2020 edition of the Sylva Herald.
An iPhone 12
A Starbucks Gift Card
A bottle of ibuprofen
An unused absentee ballot from the 2020 general election.
A Chick-Fil-A sandwich
A Face-Covering with the words, "DON'T BREATHE ON ME," on it.
A hardback copy of J.D. Vance's book, Hillbilly Elegy
A Christmas journal entry from a local pastor (see the document below)
Journal Entry for the Christmas Holiday, 2020
December 22: "We had a Christmas visit with our grandmother at her assisted living home. She waved to us from a second-floor balcony while we shouted well-wishes from the parking lot below."
December 23: "Rushed home to hide the boxes that had been delivered from Amazon."
December 24: "Adapted an outdoor Christmas Eve Service to a new location. Set-up Christmas decorations, then summarily picked up the same decorations that were blown down by the wind. Moved Christmas Eve Service indoors to escape the rain and snow. Sang 'Silent Night' by candlelight while watching the sky pour snowflakes onto Main Street.
December 25: "Opened gifts. Played Nat King Cole. Smothered pancakes with syrup. Went sledding with the family. Watched 'White Christmas' after a Christmas Dinner of Irish Stew, with Nutella crepes for dessert."
December 26: "Slept in. Ate too much candy."
December 27: "Gathered with our faith community for worship and enjoyed the scene of unspoiled snow on the church's front lawn."
December 28: "Watched a terrible college football game played in an empty stadium."
December 29: "Learned of spiking cases of COVID-19, and significant community spread of the respiratory virus."
December 30: "Texted videos, memes, and snarky comments to friends."
December 31: "Recalled what we were thankful for in a most-difficult 2020 as we prepared to welcome in a new year. Paused to celebrate that we had spent so much of 2020 with the people we loved most dear. We went to bed before seeing the ball drop in an eerily quiet and vacant Times Square in New York City."
January 1: "Visited with in-laws on our front porch while wearing face-coverings."
January 2: "Made arrangements to adapt worship to safeguard the church family from rising cases of COVID-19. Called and texted family and friends who were recovering from being sick."
January 3: "Acknowledged from the pulpit that even though 2021 was starting a lot like 2020, God would prove Himself to be a refuge and strength in the new year."
January 4: "The road ahead is uncertain, but the traveling companions that God has blessed us with are all the assurance we need."