By DOTTY NIST
As a follow-up to the celebration of Santa Rosa Beach’s 100-year anniversary, community members gathered on April 12 to place a time capsule into the ground outside the South Walton Courthouse Annex.
The capsule contained informational items envisioned to be of historical interest to future generations, including local news articles and maps, historical writings, posters and other information on the Santa Rosa Beach September 2010 centennial celebration, stickers, patches, children’s essays and art work, material on local current events and issues, and other paper and plastic items. Plans are for the capsule to stay in place until 2110 before being unearthed.
Calling the capsule a “wonderful legacy,” Walton County District 5 Commissioner Cecilia Jones expressed hope that her two-year-old grandson Colton would be able to attend its opening ceremony.
Jack Abbit, centennial committee co-chairman, said his experience with the celebration had taught him that by working together the community “can accomplish anything.”
Calling the celebration “a wonderful outpouring of community spirit,” Walton County Citizen Services Director Ken Little individually conveyed thanks to the many businesses and individuals who had worked to make the centennial, attended by over 2,500 people, a reality.
A sizeable group, members of the Santa Rosa Beach Centennial Steering Committee among them, observed as Little then placed the capsule, a stainless steel pipe-like container, into a PVC vault surrounded with concrete. The vessel was then sealed and topped with an attractive plaque bearing the intended date for its unearthing. The plaque references the capsule and the date of its placement and identifies the container as having been stored by the committee, with the assistance of the Walton County Board of County Commissioners.