Thursday, May 14, 2009

Time Capsule Found in Seattle

I just received a very interesting e-mail from our Leif Erikson lodge in Seattle, WA. According to the communique I received yesterday a time capsule, possibly dating as far back as 1915, was discovered by demolition crews at the site of the Mountaineers Club, formerly the Norway Center building, located at 300 3rd Ave West in Seattle.

The History
Apparently on January 24, 1915, Leif Erikson Lodge and the Daughters of Norway lodge Valkyrien worked together in laying the cornerstone for Norway Hall at 2015 Boren Ave. This is where the local Sons of Norway lodge would meet at until it was decided, in 1949, that a new location was needed.

On June 7th of that year a site for a new building was purchased and construction began on what would become the Norway Center, at the corner of Third Avenue West and West Thomas Street at the foot of Queen Anne Hill. The cornerstone dedication of this building took place on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 1950.

The Mystery
Because of the use of different locations for meetings, it is not known whether the newly found time capsule was orginally placed under Norway Hall in 1915 and relocated or initially created and sealed at the time of the dedication of the Norway Center in 1950.

The Unsealing
Upon the discovery of the time capsule Russ Oberg, President of Leif Erikson Lodge 2-001, Sons of Norway and Tom Stang, Retired Consul of the Royal Norwegian Consulate and a Past President of the Lodge were called in. Together they decided to unseal and open the time capsule at the current home of the the Leif Erikson Lodge at 2245 NW 57th Street in Seattle. Members of the Sons of Norway, the Valkyrien Lodge, Daughters of Norway and the Norwegian Male Chorus will be in attendance. The unsealing will be held at 3 pm on June 7th.

Being a nostalgic kind of person I find this kind of thing to be very cool and am left wishing I could be in Seattle when they crack open the time capsule. I'd love to hear from anyone who is planning to attend the opening ceremony. I think our readers would love to hear more about the time capsule and its contents.

2 comments:

MJ said...

That is so cool - I can't wait to hear what's in it.

Erik Evans said...

Me either! I can't even begin to imagine what kinds of things might be inside of it.