North Hill Elementary School gets a blast from the past with opening of time capsule

After 12 years spent sitting in a display cabinet as an entire generation of students passed before it, the contents of a time capsule were revealed during an assembly on Friday to North Hill Elementary School students.

In 2010, students and teachers at the then-newly opened building filled a treasure chest with artifacts and memorabilia from students in the very first classes to learn inside the school's walls.

The initial plan was to open the capsule in 2020 to commemorate the first group of North Hill second-graders who were set to graduate from high school two years ago.

But then the pandemic happened, pushing school leaders to hold off on opening the treasure chest until conditions were safe enough for a large crowd to gather around and take a closer look at the past.

With members of the school's 2009-2010 kindergarten class getting ready to graduate from high school, the timing was perfect on Friday to reflect back on those who were among the youngest students to learn in the then-new building and others who graced the classrooms and hallways of North Hill.

Former PTO members and school staff at the assembly opened the time capsule and presented the treasures from more than a decade ago to an enthusiastic crowd of current North Hill students.

Some of the items inside the treasure chest included a 2009-2010 yearbook, a group photo of all the classes from the first year at the new building, an old issue of The Hawk Eye, "When I Grow Up" pledges and "Wishes For the World" written by students, various student-made books, a copy of a Dr. Seuss book signed by students, and many other relics from students who attended the school that first year.

Lucy Wyatt, who was a member of the PTO during the building's first year, said PTO members pushed to do the time capsule as a way to commemorate that first year the building was opened, with teachers and students deciding what to contribute.

"We put this together at the end of that school year," Wyatt said. "We don't remember what's in here, we don't remember what they contributed."

Wyatt's son, Joshua, was a second-grader that first year at North Hill, graduated from Burlington High School in 2020, and now serves in the Marines.

Wyatt said she tried to get some of the seniors who made up that first-year kindergarten class to make it to the capsule's opening but did not have any luck.

Barb Ralphs, a former secretary, and Vickie Carhoff, a former office clerk, both of whom are now retired by worked at the school that first year, attended the capsule's opening.

They said they somewhat remember the time capsule being put together, but admitted that each were fairly busy with school business at the time.

"When the school was brand new, there was a lot going on, so we kind of got stuck in the office sometimes," Ralphs explained.

"I do remember the kindergarten class," Carhoff mentioned. "I just remember a particular child, especially who was so sweet that I always talked to. But it was a big deal. It was a big deal getting into a new building."

"It was so beautiful, so roomy, so many nice classrooms, plenty of nice classroom," Ralphs said of her first impressions of North Hill when the school first opened.

"And an intercom!" Carhoff added. "We hadn't had an intercom (at the old building)...I thought that was great."

"That's 'cause she answered the phone," Ralphs said of Carhoff's old duties.

"No more running from floor to floor," Carhoff added.

"It was a very exciting time for us, because we were the last school to be replaced," Ralphs said.

With the students chattering loudly in background prior to the capsule's opening, Ralphs noted there are things about her old job that she misses.

"No. No," Carhoff said firmly with a laugh when asked if she missed being around large groups of noisy children. "There are some things I miss, some things I do not."

"I miss being around the kids," Ralphs said. "There's a lot of connection (to the school) for us ... I have five grandkids and they all went to school here, except the youngest. So they all went to North Hill. And my kids went to North Hill. And (Carhoff's children) did, too. So, a lot of connection for us."

A boisterous wave of "oohs," "ahs," clapping and cheering from the North Hill students could be heard intermittently as Wyatt and former PTO president Shelley Morton, parent to a kindergartener and second-grader during the current building's first year open, presented the items from inside the capsule to the crowd.

Kellie Mason has worked at North Hill since the current building opened in 2009, first as a third-grade teacher and now as a math and reading interventionist.

Mason admitted she had forgotten all about the time capsule, but said she thought the opening of the chest was a fun chance for students to learn about the past.

"I think kids get existed about things that they don't know about," Mason said. "They think it's a long time ago, but, for me, it seems like yesterday."

Mason noted that she thought she taught the son of one of the mothers who attended the capsule's opening when they were in kindergarten.

"To know that now he's a full-grown man, and just even seeing her here reminds me of that time and brings back a lot of neat memories of teachers that have already retired or where here back then when we started, and just how far people have come in their careers and in their life," Mason added.

With the opening of the 2009-10 time capsule, North Hill Principal Mark Taylor said the school plans to put together a new time capsule during this final upcoming week of the school year. That time capsule will be opened in another 10 or 12 years.

Taylor said he hopes the new capsule is a tradition that will be carried on into the future.

When asked what she would put in the time capsule this time around, Mason had no shortage of ideas.

"You really want me to tell you? I'd put in a COVID test," Mason jokingly suggested with a laugh.

Getting more serious with the question, Mason said she thinks writings by students would be among her top suggestions.

"My daughter goes here, so maybe some writing that she did," Mason said. "Or anybody's writing. I think writing is neat to come back and look at, because you can really see how much you've grown."

Brad Vidmar covers public safety and education for The Hawk Eye and can be reached via email at BVidmar@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: North Hill Elementary School 2010 time capsule opened