Press-Gazette retrieves time capsule placed in production facility's cornerstone vault in 1969
The search for the Press-Gazette time capsule started with photojournalist Sarah Kloepping several months ago as we were preparing to move our operations to a new office in Broadway District.
She brought me a black-and-white photo of a man in a suit laying the cornerstone with the year 1969 carved into it.
Inside the cornerstone vault was what appeared to be a box.
“We have to get that time capsule,” Kloepping said.
The man in the photograph was the late Daniel Beisel, who at the time was the president of Green Bay Newspaper Co. The cornerstone was laid in August 1969 in the newly constructed production facility, which housed the new printing press.
As the Press-Gazette prepared to leave its 100-year-old home at 435 E. Walnut St., Kloepping insisted we get the time capsule. As of May 1, the Press-Gazette newsroom, advertising team and sales center are operating out of an office suite at 520 N. Broadway in the Rail Yard Innovation District. Our distribution team moved to a site in Ashwaubenon, just off Interstate 41.
If there was a time capsule, we wanted to get it before we left for good.
The only problem was, I could find no story that mentioned a time capsule, or anything placed inside the cornerstone vault. The Press-Gazette produced a whole special section on the new production facility, and I could not find one mention of a time capsule.
I continued to look through our archives, in case the time capsule had been removed after, say, 20 years, 25 years, 30 years. I could not find any reference. Was there really a time capsule? Even if we opened the cornerstone and there was nothing there, at least I wouldn't always wonder if we had left it behind.
To open it or not to open it?
I had many conversations with Sarah Kloepping and reporter Richard Ryman about this.
It was an added task to the hundreds that remained in our move from the building that had housed the Press-Gazette since 1924 and been my work home for 25 years. I know I'll drive by the old office and look at it like one might a childhood home, reminiscing about the past while realizing someone else now calls it home.
Before we left, whenever I needed to stretch my legs, I would walk up to the third floor where the newsroom was and through the second floor where advertising and layout were. I would recall the people who had been there, working hard, toiling into the night. I would marvel at old editions of the Press-Gazette that I came across and think about how the small computer most everyone now carries in their pocket has changed the landscape of this profession.
Borne out of a sense of duty to those who worked there before us, we decided we had to at least see if there was a time capsule there.
So I contacted Brice Masonry.
On April 12, Randy and Josh of Brice Masonry carefully and expertly cut out the cornerstone and removed it to reveal a copper-colored metal box that had been soldered shut.
They let me remove the box and I gave it a shake. Yes, there were was something in it.
Randy Brice cut away the soldering on three sides of the end of the box, and we took it inside to examine the contents.
Some things never change
The time capsule contained the special section on the production facility and a copy of the July 21, 1969, Press-Gazette with the huge news that man had walked on the moon. There were coins and pamphlets and a Packers bumper sticker and a WNFL pen and pencil set.
There were two envelopes — one contained a letter from Daniel Beisel; the other a list of contents of the time capsule.
The letter, dated Aug. 15, 1969, said, in part, “As we file these items of interest as evidence of how things look to us at this time of dedication, we wonder what circumstances will cause them to be removed and who might be involved in noting their contents.”
I feel honored to have removed the time capsule and its contents 55 years later. Our move from the building prompted us to retrieve it. In the flurry of relocating, the capsule provided us with a moment to think about and pay tribute to all those who worked at the Press-Gazette before us and everyone still working for the Press-Gazette.
Among the contents of the time capsule, one item stood out to me. It was slightly bigger than a postage stamp.
It was a small clipping — a correction that appeared in the newspaper after the special section on the production facility had been printed. The name of a Press-Gazette employee had been omitted from the special section and a title of an employee had been incorrect.
The correction represented the basic tenets of journalism — getting it right and correcting our mistakes. They are still practiced today. Although the newspaper has changed a lot since 1969, our practice of the principles of journalism hasn't.
Aug. 15, 1969, letter
“To Whom It May Concern:
“During these historic times, and shortly following man’s first footsteps on the moon, the Green Bay Newspaper Company officially dedicates its new production building with the memorabilia included in this cornerstone vault.
“As we file these items of interest as evidence of how things look to us at this time of dedication, we wonder what circumstances will cause them to be removed and who might be involved in noting their contents.
“At the moment we see our city and area on the verge of dramatic growth. The current Gregby I project for downtown renewal should gather momentum and completely change the face of our business community long before this building ceases to service its original purpose. Our harbor and industrial park development are slowly but surely reaching the stage of fruition and while, at this time, we feel that Green Bay is the finest city in the state to live in, we predict that someday it will surpass all other cities in the state in size and importance.
“Greetings from the Press-Gazette gang of 1969!”
Daniel C. Beisel, President
Green Bay Newspaper Company
Content list of the time capsule
Contents of Production Building Cornerstone Box
Letter from Daniel C. Beisel, president and publisher, Green Bay Newspaper Co.
1968 financial statement of the Newspaper Co.
Copy of P-G Jr., with photograph of first shovel of dirt turned for new building.
1969 circulation report
1969 Wisconsin highway map
Invitation to advertisers to first open house and tour of production building
Production facts cards placed at each advertiser’s plate at open house luncheon
Original outline on expansion program prepared for board of directors’ meeting, May 1963
July 21, 1969, edition of the Green Bay Press-Gazette telling the story of the first time man set foot on the moon
July 30, 1969, story of first close-up photos of Mars transmitted by Mariner 6
July 27, 1969, Sunday Green Bay Press-Gazette special section on production building.
Clipping on correction of employees’ names not included in production section
WNFL radio station pen and pencil set
“We’ll Win with Bengtson” bumper stickers from WNFL promoting Phil Bengtson’s first season as coach and general manager of the Green Bay Packers
Two aerial photos of downtown Green Bay
Chamber of Commerce brochure on Green Bay as transportation center
Brown County Historical Society brochure on historic sites in Brown County
Brochure on the National Railroad Museum
Brochure on the new University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
Chamber of Commerce booklet “Howdy Neighbor” outlining miscellaneous facts about industry, retailing and family life in the Green Bay area
Chamber of Commerce booklet on market data
1969 coins – five cent piece not available in the Green Bay area at time of cornerstone sealing
Ronald F. McKenzie
Promotion Manager
Handwritten P.S.: “Hi Green Bay, Can’t help but wonder if you have new bridges over the Fox River.”
Now that we have recovered the time capsule, I would like to thank Daniel Beisel and his team for the foresight and care they put into it. I also want to thank Brice Masonry for its care and expertise in removing the cornerstone and opening the time capsule. And I want to thank the current Press-Gazette team members for their continued hard work.
Change of address
With the move, please send all mail to:
Green Bay Press-Gazette
P.O. Box 23430
Green Bay, WI 54305
Peter Frank is editor of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. He can be reached at 920-431-8311 or by email at pfrank@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay Press-Gazette retrieves time capsule from 1969
