STEWARDSON — On Aug. 25, 1974, at 4 p.m., Stewardson residents celebrated the village’s centennial by burying a time vault in the park to be opened exactly 50 years later.
As the village celebrated its 150th this year, anticipation built to open the vault. There was just one problem: The company that made the vault, Wilbert, told organizers there would be water in it.
“I still was like, ‘na, it can’t be,’” said Geannine Kessler.
Kessler was 13 years old when she witnessed the small vault being buried. Her grandfather, Gib Brummerstedt, who was the funeral director at the time, acquired the vault. Her mother, Shary Vonderheide, was on the centennial committee and had called places asking for items to be put in it.
“As a child, I always knew that it should have been that we open it up, and it looks just picture perfect. We were supposed to open it 50 years after the day and even to the time,” she said.
Burial vaults at that time weren’t sealed. The vault was excavated, and the company instructed them to drill a hole before opening it. Once the hole was drilled, water ran out of it and continued to run for about an hour.
“I was broken-hearted,” said Kessler.
Since then, Lowell Moomaw, president of the Stewardson Historical Museum Inc., has been drying out the items from the vault. Some disintegrated, while others, including a Bible put in by Kessler’s family, managed to stay intact; her mother’s handwriting still visible.
“Lowell has done a lot of work drying them out,” said Kessler.
Among the items that didn’t sustain too much damage is a bundle of newspapers from the Stewardson Clipper, which is now the Beecher City Journal, and some other printed materials, such as a pattern book from a fabric store that still has vibrant color.
Moomaw was surprised to find one media that seemed to have survived.
“What didn’t deteriorate was photos,” he said.
Other items were from local businesses in operation at the time. Moomaw estimates there were 30. While the current number is less, Moomaw said one from the time vault still exists, Jones Trucking. Promotional items included catalogs from two dealerships in town at the time, Chevy and Ford – those looking for a new vehicle in 1974 could buy a new Corvette for $6,081 and a Camaro for $3,713.
Events at the time that grabbed people’s attention are seen in much of the literature covering space exploration and politics.
In 1974, NASA pushed the boundaries of long-duration human space missions with Skylab, America’s first space station. Skylab laid the foundations for the space science program on the International Space Station. President Richard Nixon resigned from office the same year following the Watergate scandal.
Other items include film reels and a dye cast of the village’s stamp. Unfortunately, the group doesn’t have a working projector to view the reels to see what is on them or if they are even viewable.
The time vault was buried with the intention that there would be a place to display the items. So, the centennial group created the historical museum.
The museum is housed in an old Methodist church in the village that dates back to the late 1800s. It was originally erected between Beecher City and Stewardson before it was torn apart and rebuilt in its current location along Main Street in Stewardson.
The small church building has needed a lot of work as it showcases items from the village’s history.
“The building has been falling down over the years,” said Moomaw.
With no source of income other than meal fundraisers, Kessler and Moomaw are finding it a challenge to keep the museum going, especially as the number of museum board members dwindles.
“We’re all older,” said Kessler, who is the curator.
The five-member board is losing two of its oldest members due to mobility issues, and finding replacements is difficult.
“Just ain’t enough young people out there interested in history,” said Moomaw.
The museum board is facing another problem – space.
“Our museum is about full,” said Moomaw.
Nonetheless, Moomaw assures the museum will eventually display the items salvaged from the time vault.
“We got four display cases up front we’ve been saving back,” he said.