Unearthing a 25 Year Old Time Capsule
I was seated at the kitchen table, visiting with Retired Deputy Fire Chief Pat Jennings and his wife, Annette, when they mentioned a twenty-five year old time capsule buried at Fire Station #1 on Juniper
Street. I asked why it was buried at the station and I was told it was the only land the city owned. Across the street, Inez Memorial Park was owned by the Murrieta Town Hall Association. City leaders had
conducted business in the town hall until the facilities at the industrial complex on Beckman Ct. were available. The City couldn’t bury a capsule at the park or in an industrial center. The fire station was the
only available solution.
The Society needed permission to unearth the time capsule. I met with Fire Chief Scott Ferguson at the station in his office on the second floor of the administration building. The building was built after the time capsule had been buried. With the new building in front of it, the time capsule was now residing in the center courtyard of the station’s complex. After a brief meeting, Ferguson gave us permission, and we set a date and time for our event.
A week prior to the public reveal, Pat Jennings had a group of firefighters, led by Captain Red Martinez, to begin digging a hole to unearth the time capsule. At one moment, Martinez called Jennings stating that the men hadn’t found the box. Jennings smiled and said, “Keep digging.” After about three feet, the top of the box had been reached.
The Jennings and I met with Dawn Morrison, the station’s management analysis, to discuss the event and the seating arraignments. When asked how many people had RSVP, I was told fifteen. However, the day of the event we had an estimated 140 people attend! One person in attendance was Carol Kravagna-Hanson, who was the secretary of the Murrieta Citizens for Cityhood.
Carol was the person who prepared the time capsule in 1991 and was the last person to place items inside before it was buried. It was fitting that 25 years later, she was the first person to open the time capsule and to reveal to those in attendance the capsule’s contents. History had come full circle.
After the crowds left, and the chairs packed up, Pat Jennings and the firemen filled in the gaping hole. Dawn Morrison transported the contents to Librarian Laura Davis at the Murrieta Public Library. There the items were inventoried and Pat helped Laura digitally scan many of the documents. Laura then placed the contents in the Heritage Room’s display cases for the public to enjoy.
The time capsule contents will be on display until September 1, at which time they will be boxed and stored in the archives. The box will become a new “time capsule”, capturing the moment Murrieta became a city twenty-five years ago. We wish to say thank you all those that helped make this event a historic occasion.
Murrieta Time Capsule Inventory
Prepared by Librarian Laura Davis
Correspondence:
Letters of congratulations from Vice-President Dan Quayle and
Governor of California Pete Wilson to the Citizens for Cityhood
Documents:
Murrieta Student Essays predicting what Murrieta will be like in 2016
Newspapers and News Clippings
Four Original Newspaper Inserts on Elected City Council Members and Cityhood
Numerous Copies of News Clippings on Murrieta
Ephemera:
Citizens for Cityhood:
Murrieta Yes Cityhood Pin
Murrieta Cityhood Brochures (2) & Informational Insert
Murrieta Yes AA & BB for Murrieta Cityhood Sign
I Support Murrieta Cityhood Sticker
Murrieta Gem of the Valley License Plate Holder
Murrieta Gem of the Valley Hats
Murrieta Valley High School
MVHS Night Hawks 1990 – 1991 Pennant Banner
MVHS Night Hawks 1991 School Yearbook
Garden Club:
Welcome the Murrieta Garden Club Card
Inaugural Ceremony Items:
Official Invitation to the City of Murrieta inaugural Ceremony
City of Murrieta Inaugural Ceremony Program (signed by then-city council
members)
City of Murrieta Inaugural Ceremony Guest Books (2)
City of Murrieta Inaugural Ceremony
City of Murrieta Inaugural Ceremony Pen
City of Murrieta Inaugural Ceremony Napkin
Audio Visual Materials:
City of Murrieta Inaugural Ceremony Video Tape
Radio Station KRTM 88.9 FM: We Salute the New City of Murrieta” Cassette
Tape
Photographs:
Garden Club Photograph (1)
Town Hall Association Photographs (18)
Also In very poor condition and probably will be discarded:
Murrieta Cityhood Blue Ribbon 1988
100 Years Ago:
Married in Hemet:
Lester Henry Baxter, son of Mr. and Mrs. A.S. Baxter of Ethanac, and Miss Marguerite Josephine Hoffman of Murrieta were married at the home of Rev. Charles E. Maimann, rector of the local
Episcopal church, Saturday, August 5. The witnesses were Mrs. Mary A. Baxter, mother of the groom, and Mr. Miles Dodd. The young couple will make their home on the Baxter ranch near Ethanac.
The groom is well known in Hemet, having been a student at the Hemet Union high school for a number of years. The bride is very attractive and has always been popular in the Murrieta and
Ethanac sections. August 11, 1916 Hemet News
Murrieta was by no means the hottest place last week as 108 was as high as it got. The hot days ripened the bean crop in the dry spots. It will be some time till the last of the crop is ready for cutting. The hill land alfalfa seed is being cut. Farmers find they can raise a crop of mixed hay and then a light crop of alfalfa seed on the hill land.
A. J. Sykes is shipping oat hay this week.
(August 15, 1916 RIE)
Wanted – Shetland pony cart or buggy, and harness. Phone 1134Y or write A. J. Sykes, Murrieta, Cal.
(August 8, 1916 RIE)
A.J. Sykes has a new hupmobile.
(August 29, 1916 RIE)
President's Message:
On July 16, 2016, the Vail Headquarters in Temecula held its ribbon cutting ceremony. After twenty years of lawsuits, meetings, and reconstruction, the Vail Headquarters has been carefully restored
and is ready to accept new tenants. The site is a mere 4 1⁄2 acres of the original 87,500 Vail Ranch that encompassed a huge portion of southwestern Riverside County, including the Santa Rosa. This is not
only a Temecula heritage site, but also a part of Murrieta history.
The oldest structure on the property is Wolf’s Store built in 1867. Louis Wolf, as Justice of the Peace, signed Juan Murrieta’s marriage license on February 13, 1876. In the 1890s, Murrieta farmers, such as Hutchinson & Brown, harvested hay on the 2000-acre Pauba Ranch. Then from 1904 to 1964, many Murrieta families earned a living working for the Vail Ranch.
During the celebrations I met a few Murrieta pioneer residents visiting the site. I told them that Murrieta could one day have a historic venue similar to the Vail Headquarters. I shared my vision of a village containing restored historic buildings at 2nd Street Park where school children, residents and tourists would come and relive Murrieta’s rich past. I would love to have living history days and reenactments brought to life for the public. The more people that share this vision, the closer it becomes a reality.
On July 19th the Murrieta Valley Historical Society launched its membership drive. I immediately broke out my checkbook and became a member. I want to encourage you to join the Society and together we can make history come alive for future generations.
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