Hannibal Prepares to Seal the 2069 Time Capsule

Hannibal has had an amazing bicentennial year, packed with special events, celebrations, parades and concerts.  Really, the only ho-hum happening was the opening of the sesquicentennial  time capsule.  In a Geraldo Rivera-style dramatic reveal, officials opened the vault buried in 1969 only to find that most everything was water damaged.  Here's hoping for better results in 50 years when the city opens the next time capsule.

The Hannibal Bicentennial time capsule will be closed in a ceremony at 10 a.m. Oct. 26 in Central Park, which is the last day of the Farmers' Market.  The time capsule will be opened 50 years from now, in 2069.

Items in the time capsule include yearbooks, rosters from service clubs and lists of employees, drones photographs of Hannibal, souvenirs from Hannibal's Bicentennial celebration, photographs from the sandbagging efforts and letters.

Seventh-graders wrote letters to the citizens of Hannibal in 2069 and teachers chose the best letter from each homeroom or school. The winners will read their letters at the ceremony.

The class winners from Hannibal Middle School were: Mia Watson, Piper Harvey, Breanna Smith and Zora Reese. The winner from Holy Family School was Prestan Schanbacher. The winner from St. John’s School was Alana Lemon.

The time capsule was donated by Smith Funeral Home