YELL TIME CAPSULE WILL BE BURIED TUESDAY EVENING

The unassuming green box may not look like much now, but in 50 years it could be a treasure trove of information about the area and its residents as they approached the new millennium.

The 14-by-14-by-24-inch stainless-steel box that will become the YELL Millennium Time Capsule arrived at the Southeast Missourian Tuesday.

It sits waiting to be filled with items that detail the area's past and present and show how we looked toward the future. The time capsule sponsored by the YELL Foundation will be buried in a ceremony that begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Arena Park. Plans are to open it in 2050.

"We hope that within the 50-year period of the time capsule illiteracy will be wiped out in our community," said Kim McDowell of the Southeast Missourian and a board member of the YELL Foundation.

The foundation funds literacy programs in Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City. Much of that funding comes from the sale of YELL newspaper editions, which will be sold for $2 each on street corners Tuesday morning.

"It is people who buy the YELL papers who are adding their contributions for grant money that helps fight illiteracy," McDowell said.

The time capsule will be buried in the evening the same day as the YELL edition is sold. "There's always so much excitement surrounding the YELL edition that we thought it would be the perfect day to have the ceremony," said Karen Green, president of the board of the YELL Foundation.

A copy of the YELL edition will be one of the items that will be entombed in the time capsule. This year's edition will include historic news pages like the German surrender in 1918, coverage of the Cape Girardeau tornado of 1949 and Mark McGwire's 70th home run in 1998; predictions from third-graders from the region's schools on what life will be like in the 21st century; family photos from readers; a historic timeline; millennium activities; information about the YELL Foundation; and a copy of Tuesday's Southeast Missourian.

Also going into the time capsule will be "City of Roses," a book on the history of Cape Girardeau; a book from Vision 2000; and items from Southeast Missouri State University and the cities of Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City.

"With the children making predictions and the stories and photos from area families, we think the contents are interesting," Green said. "And 50 years from now we think people will still find them interesting."

Items put in the capsule will be carefully prepared with preservation materials before being placed in the capsule to help ensure the materials will remain in good shape for the opening 50 years from now.

Once all the items are in the time capsule, the oxygen will be removed to help preserve the items even longer, McDowell said.

The time capsule will be buried next to the flag pole near the A.C. Brase Arena cornerstone during the SEMO District Fair. Dan Muser, director of the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department, said a crew will dig the hole for the capsule Thursday afternoon or Friday morning. Rose Concrete is proving the cement vaulting.

At Tuesday's burial ceremony, entertainment will be by Robin Hosp, a popular singer from Jackson, and Liesl Schoenberger, a local high school student who has won competitions for both her violin and fiddle playing. Speakers will be high school student J.P. Limbaugh, known for his oratory skills, and the Rev. Walter J. Keisker, a longtime Lutheran pastor who turned 100 this year.

A marker from Ford and Sons Funeral Home will keep the burial site visible and remind those in the future when it will be time to open the capsule.

"We think the time capsule is a good way to commemorate YELL for the millennium," Green said.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

GET READY TO YELL!

Yell papers hit area streets Sept. 14. Proceeds from sale of papers go to fight literacy. Random prizes inside many of the papers include McGwire collectibles, concert tickets, free meals and much more!