Time capsule opened from 1996 Washington Co. jail dedication
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
The Washington County commissioners and other members of the county’s prison board and jail staff hold contents from a time capsule packed with items during the March 1996 dedication of the new jail facility. The group opened the box during Wednesday’s prison board meeting at the jail.
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
The time capsule included an orange prison jumpsuit, eating utensils, staff patches and badges, handcuff keys, inmate handbooks, photographs, a hymnal and several programs from that dedication of the new Washington County jail on March 28, 1996.
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
Washington County jail Warden Jeffrey Fewell looks at the sealed time capsule box with contents placed in it during the dedication of the new jail facility in March 1996.
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
The box’s contents remained a mystery for years with a typed message under packing tape explicitly stating not to open it until 2020. Those plans were delayed until Wednesday’s prison board meeting due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
When Washington County officials dedicated the new jail in March 1996, they included in the ceremony a time capsule filled with various items typically used at the time by prisoners and correctional officers, which they wanted to be revealed in 2020.
Also inserted in the shoebox-sized capsule were various predictions from dignitaries in attendance that ranged from all-electric cars and talking wristwatches to an $8 minimum wage and the end of racism.
While some predictions were right and many were wrong, none of them had the foresight of a global pandemic bringing life to a halt and thus delaying the opening of the time capsule itself.
“No, no. No one expected that one,” said Washington County Historical Society Executive Director Clay Kilgore, whose museum held the capsule in its archives for more than a quarter-century.
The box’s contents remained a mystery for years with a typed message under packing tape explicitly stating: “THIS BOX NOT AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC UNTIL 2020!! DO NOT OPEN!!!!” Kilgore always knew the capsule was there and began making plans with jail officials in 2019 to open it on time. But when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, people couldn’t gather together and the time capsule became an afterthought.
“We have this box and we’ll talk here soon and then get something figured out,” Kilgore said of his thoughts at the time. “Pandemic hits and no one thought about it … and then it left my mind.”
It wasn’t until Kilgore attended a historical society board meeting last Thursday when the idea of putting together a time capsule for the organization’s own dedication of its new Research & Education Center on Maiden Street in Washington came up, which refreshed his memory. Immediately after the meeting, Kilgore contacted Warden Jeffrey Fewell and they began organizing the opening during Wednesday morning’s prison board meeting at the jail.
“It’s amazing that the old jail (officials) had the forethought to reach out to (future wardens) and give them a glimpse of the past,” Fewell said. “It’s a recent past, it’s not really that long ago. Hats off to them.”
Before the meeting, Commissioners Diana Irey Vaughan, Larry Maggi and Nick Sherman wrestled with the box for a few minutes trying to figure out how to get inside.
“How many commissioners does it take to open a box?” Sherman quipped.
“I know this is a correctional facility, but does anyone have a knife?” Irey Vaughan responded.
They carefully opened the box with a small knife and began pulling out a variety of items packed neatly inside. The contents included an orange prison jumpsuit, eating utensils, staff patches and badges, handcuff keys, inmate handbooks, photographs, a hymnal and several programs from that dedication on March 28, 1996. The ceremony was to christen the state-of-the-art Washington County Correctional Facility that officially opened in 1995 when prisoners were moved out of the old jail attached to the courthouse.
“Corrections is very slow to change. They probably had similar problems we did,” Fewell said before rattling off typical hurdles such as training, staffing, facility improvements and general supervision. “The challenges haven’t changed over the decades.”
But the commissioners and other members of the prison board and jail staff in attendance marveled the most about the predictions. Moments after one person pointed out the talking wristwatch premonition, Irey Vaughan’s smart watch began dinging, indicating she was getting a phone call.
“I love the idea that (they thought) everyone would be driving around in electric cars. And they’re so close, but they’re not quite there,” Kilgore said about the predictions.
What Kilgore appreciated most about Wednesday’s capsule opening – which he attended through the very futuristic video conferencing method known as Zoom – is that it wasn’t only about the new jail or the criminal justice system.
“It’s what people are looking forward to, and that hasn’t changed. We’re still looking at the brightness of the future and are hopeful it will be better than it is now,” he said. “I love time capsules because it gives a glimpse into what people thought life would be like and what was important to them at the time.”
While society seems to have advanced more than the corrections system over the past 25 years, Fewell made his own prediction that it would change by leaps and bounds in the not-so-distant future.
“I think the robots are going to take over,” Fewell said about futuristic jails. “AI is going to be huge.”