Some things are timeless. Like Pokémon trading cards.
On Friday afternoon, Sept. 24, Ranchero Elementary students, staff and special guests got an opportunity to see what kids at the school were up to, and in to, 21 years ago. A special ceremony was held for the opening of a time capsule stocked with special student projects, old newspapers and various memorabilia from the 2000/2001 school year.
Joining Principal Doug Cumming for the ceremony was Tyler Mcgee, who was a student at the school then and helped put the capsule together.
Prior to the capsule’s opening, Mcgee took several questions from current Ranchero students, such as what kind of music he listened to then.
“Gee, back in the 2000s, we really like Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls – oh heck yeah,” said Mcgee to a mix of laughs and moans. “We liked a lot of dance music. We really knew how to throw a sock hop here.”
Asked what he did in his spare time, Mcgee said he always loved video games but didn’t have the consoles they do now.
“We had Super Nintendo and we had Sega Genesis. Sonic the Hedgehog was cool,” said Mcgee, laughing as the kids shared their own thoughts on his era’s gaming options.
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After removing the four screws holding the time capsule together, Cumming, Mcgee and a student pulled the first piece out of the capsule, a grey Ranchero T-shirt. Also removed was a greeting from December 2001, written by then-principal Derek Woodhurst.
Students from different classes included projects collected on large sheets of paper folded into the capsule. One was by teacher Shannon Seed’s Grade 5 students, who included a message about what they hoped to achieve in the year 2000, predictions for 2020 and more.
“I had all my class do each one of these pages and it looks like they worked pretty hard on it,” said Seed, still a teacher with the school.
Several newspapers were included in the capsule, including one from 1977, when the first capsule was made, with a headline about the announcement of plans for Herald Park.
As Cumming was wrapping up the ceremony, Mcgee, who was still digging through the capsule, let out a shout of joy:
“Whoa, ho, ho, a super rare, shiny Pokémon card!”
While the students may not have shared Mcgee’s taste in music, many clearly shared his excitement about the Pokémon card.
Students were given a chance to have a quick look through the time capsule, the contents of which will be on display in the school. Cumming said a new capsule will be set up next year, to be opened in 2042.
