Wildfire, mayor resignation, earthquake and storms: Greenwood Lake commemorates 2024 with centennial time capsule
Centennial committee co-chair Nancy Clifford said there will be a special package of items in the capsule to tell the story of the wildfire, but there were several other notable events future residents should know about.
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As Greenwood Lake celebrates its centennial, some residents are trying to figure out how to tell people in the future about what happened this year in the village, especially the recent wildfire.
The concept is common — a time capsule — but the challenge is different this year than it was in 1974 when village leaders buried its previous 50-year time capsule.
Business owner Warren Congdon showed News 12 the local centennial committee's latest newsletters, which have been distributed all over the village.
The newsletters, which are thicker and more content-dense than most newspapers, have told the 100-year history of the village.
They have also promoted centennial celebrations throughout the year.
Those include next month's sealing of a new 50-year time capsule to be opened in 2074 when the village turns 150.
Until Nov. 9, the committee was planning to enclose the usual items that might go into a time capsule such as newspaper clippings and utility bills, Congdon said, "but since we had this giant forest fire, I figured that would be something that we'd like to be included. It was a pretty incredible experience."
Many residents told News 12 Wednesday they would like for the capsule to include items that show people in the future how hard firefighters worked to keep the November wildfire from destroying homes east of the lake.
"Hopefully there's something there that's more symbolic," resident Honie Glabach said.
"Their glove or a mask that they use that burned," resident Melissa Taveras suggested. "They can use that."
Centennial committee co-chair Nancy Clifford said there will be a special package of items in the capsule to tell the story of the wildfire, but there were several other notable events future residents should know about.
"We've obviously added things, like things happened in the village," Clifford said over the phone Wednesday, "like our mayor quit. We've had microbursts. We've had an earthquake, you know? 2024 has been some year."
The committee just opened the time capsule that was buried in 1974. Cassettes and video reels were ruined by water and mud.
To avoid similar damage this time around, the committee is planning to seal the new capsule, a filing cabinet, and store it in the basement of the village library until it is opened in 2074,
The committee is accepting submissions for the time capsule until December 15th, and it will be sealed at a ceremony on Dec. 29.
News 12 is providing hard copies of photos of the wildfire shared by viewers, and a flash drive holding news stories about the fire to be stored in the capsule.
