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Dorothy Copus Brush History is full of time capsules As our centennial year ended, a centennial
time capsule was buried at the Crossville Depot amid great pomp
and circumstance. The vault held a collection of memories of
our town and its progress during 100 years. It is to be opened
during the bicentennial in 2101. Time capsules have been around for a long
time. It has been estimated that about 10,000 have been buried
worldwide. Trouble is, most have been lost because the word of
when and where it was buried was not passed on to new generations.
A permanent plaque should always mark the spot. Our country was late in joining the time capsule
custom. In 1936 the president of Oglethorpe University in Atlanta
wrote an article on the subject for Scientific American. Thornwell
Jacobs proposed the idea that a Crypt of Civilization should
be established somewhere. Great interest was aroused by the idea,
and during the 1938 New York World's Fair, the Westinghouse Company
buried a container in their pavilion with instructions it was
to be opened in 6938 A.D. They called it a "time capsule"
and the term was added to our language. Thornwell Jacobs saw his dream take shape
when the Crypt of Civilization was built at Oglethorpe University
and sealed there on May 28, 1940. Fairfield Glade resident Craig
Bollman had a part in the creation of the crypt because of his
career in art. In 1932, Bollman was a layout artist in Dayton,
OH and even though it was the hard times of the Great Depression,
he quit and applied with more than 100 other job seekers to become
an unpaid apprentice in the art studios of the Chicago firm Stevens,
Sundblom & Stults. He felt fortunate when he was chosen,
because of the experience he could gain. When Haddon Sundblom left the firm, he asked
Bollman to go with him. This move meant washing the talented
Sundblom's brushes and acting as a general "gofer,"
but more important, he was adding to his education. It was Sundblom
who created the Santa Claus that Coca-Cola has featured every
Christmas season since it first appeared in the 1930s. Several
years ago Bollman visited The World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta and
the archivist there questioned him at length about his days with
Sundblom, "Sunny" to Bollman. Stults, another member of the original firm,
began a new group which concentrated on advertising design. Bollman
was invited to join the firm and the opportunity was more suitable
to his abilities and ambitions. Sundblom gave his blessing for
the change. In 1934, Bollman accepted the position of art director
in the advertising department of the American Rolling Mill Co.
which became Armco Steel later. Now back to the crypt. Armco was involved
in the project and they contributed stainless steel and the design
and fabrication of the door, the only visible part of the huge
crypt, which was as large as a swimming pool. As art director
Bollman was involved in the design. The only stipulation was
that the only thing on the surface of the door was an inscription
by President Roosevelt. Inside the sealed crypt are records of
civilization which will not be seen until May 28, 8113 when the
door will swing open. The Guinness Book of World Records in 1990 took note of the Crypt describing it "as the first successful attempt to bury a record of this culture for any future inhabitants or visitors to planet Earth." That same year an organization, the International Time Capsule Society, was formed and is headquartered at Oglethorpe University. Their mission is to maintain a registry of all known time capsules. Crossville should be on that list. · · · |