A 12-month party came to its official close Wednesday, Dec. 26, not with candles being doused, but with a treasure trove of historic memorabilia being packed up, padlocked and marked open in 2057.
The village of Ballston Spa’s bicentennial year was heralded out with much the same fanfare as it was greeted last January. A standing-room-only crowd spilled into the hallways at Brookside History Center, where village trustees spoke heartfelt words about the yearlong festivities. Events during 2007 included a block party on Front Street, a village homecoming that brought hundreds of former residents back for a weekend, and a two-hour-long parade down Milton Avenue.
`We celebrated in a manner that will be talked about for the next 50 years,` said Mayor John Romano, reading from a letter tucked into the time capsule for the next `Mr./Madam Mayor.`
Bookends of the bicentennial year were the prying open of the 1957 time capsule and the sealing of the 2007 capsule. Last January, the flat, gray wooden box filled during the village’s sesquicentennial was opened with lots of elbow grease.
`We worked all day to loosen up the screws and nails, and there was paint on it that sealed it up more,` said Ken Hahn, one of the bicentennial committee members who spent two years planning events. `We put easy-to-open padlocks on the 2007 one.`
The 1957 box housed mostly legal documents, proclamations and photographs. The items loaded into the much more spacious 2007 box were given by residents seeking to bring a bit of personality to the package, perhaps making the residents of 2057 smile.
Those items included a toothbrush from village dentist Steve Esposito; resident history buff John Cromie’s predictions for the future; wooden nickels; the guestbook signed by attendees at all bicentennial gatherings; a handmade wooden toy by historian Chris Morley; tokens for a free mug of beer; a bicentennial afghan; and a DVD player and discs of all 2007 celebrations. Also included were newspaper clippings from The Milton Spotlight about bicentennial events held throughout the village during 2007.
`We also included a listing of everything in the box and how to use it, in case a DVD player is something they never heard of 50 years from now,` said committee member Meg Stevens.
Michaela Bowers, granddaughter of village clerk Patti Bowers, will be 63 when the time capsule is opened. She included a brief letter about her life in the village.
`I’ll be here when they open it,` said Michaela.
State Assembly Minority Leader Jim Tedisco, R-Schenectady, helped pack the items into the new capsule.
`I was here when we opened the first one, and I can tell you the people made the year a great time of celebration,` said Tedisco. `The village isn’t getting older; it’s getting better.`
Hopefully, opening the capsule 50 years from now will prove less daunting than closing the foot locker, donated by Ray Groski and refurbished by Paul Farnan and Angelo D’Annible. With a couple hundred items, and weighing about 60 pounds, the blue metal container was bursting at the seams. For a few moments, people in the audience at Brookside wondered if village board members would have to use the tried-and-true technique for zipping an overloaded suitcase.
`We’ll get this repacked properly,` said village clerk Patti Bowers. `That won’t involve sitting on it to get it to shut.`
Village historian and grand marshal of the bicentennial parade, Morley was in his 20s when he attended the 1957 parade in downtown Ballston Spa.
`I had already done two years in the South Pacific by then,` said Morley, who dressed in a festive vest, formal hat and tie for many of the bicentennial events. `Not many people have been to two of the village celebrations.`
As part of the `Brothers of the Brush` pledge during 2007, Morley grew facial hair; specifically, a moustache and goatee. Now that the year is over, village men are released from the decree, but Morley said he was considering keeping the scruff.
`It does help keep my face warm, but it’s also itchy,` said Morley.
The 2007 time capsule and its keys will be placed prominently in the vault in the village municipal center. The 1957 box was found by accident in the village library while renovations were being done.
`Every event reminded us how lucky we are to live in such a great place,` said Romano, closing the ceremony. `We’re a community rich in history and proud of our past. We’ve left a special legacy.“
