SIDNEY — Buried in the base of the statue of General Shelby is a time capsule. Fabricated from stainless steel by workers at Lochard Inc., the small box was sealed and carefully placed in the base of the statue sitting on bricks from the former Children’s Home.
“The time capsule’s opening was not quite as large as I anticipated,” Bicentennial Co-Chair Mike Barhorst said, “so some of the items we had intended to include were too large. I intend to give those items to the Shelby County Historical Society for their permanent collection.”
Included inside the time capsule were:
• A program from the opening ceremony;
• An invitation and tickets to the opening ceremony;
• A poster advertising the Bicentennial opening program in Hardin;
• A Shelby County Bicentennial Rifle Raffle flyer and ticket;
• A Feb. 16, 2019, copy of the Sidney Daily News announcing Governor DeWine as the principal speaker for the opening ceremony;
• A flyer for the Shelby County Church tour;
• Shelby County Bicentennial lapel pins;
• Shelby County Bicentennial wooden nickels;
• Sidney Bicentennial wooden nickels;
• Sidney Bicentennial lapel pins;
• An invitation to Ferguson Construction’s Centennial celebration;
• A Sidney Bicentennial Rifle Raffle flyer and ticket;
• A Great Miami Riverway Trail map;
• A letter of support for the Great Miami Riverway Recreational Trail;
• A flyer from the Tawawa Park Cruise-In;
• A card announcing the STARR House Open House;
• A Sidney Kiwanis Club 100 Anniversary cup;
• A Sidney Y-Fest Flyer;
• An order form for the Shelby County Bicentennial Silver Coin;
• A Shelby County Bicentennial silver coin;
• An order form for a Sidney Bicentennial Silver Coin;
• A Sidney Bicentennial silver coin;
• Commemorative elongated cents;
• A flyer announcing the opening of the Wilson Health Clinic at Sidney City Schools;
• A flyer for the Fort Loramie Historical Association artifact show;
• Ohio State Buckeye memorabilia;
• A Bob Guillozet campaign pin;
• A Sept. 19, 2019, copy of the Sidney Daily News announcing the successful Guiness World Record attempt with the headline: 2394 Cans Went Pop, Pop, Pop;
• A Shelby County Tree Bicentennial Tree Planting Ceremony program;
• A 2019 City of Sidney calendar;
• A 2020 City of Sidney calendar;
• A Japan External Trade Organization brochure featuring Sidney;
• A copy of the Dayton Business Journal dated November 6, 2020, featuring Sidney;
• A Stolle Machinery Guiness Official Attempt drink can;
•A Shelby County Bicentennial paper weight;
• A Sidney 1820 Export beer can;
• A Shelby 1819 Limited beer can;
• A set of Shelby County Bicentennial postal cards;
• A set of Sidney Bicentennial postal cards;
• A list of beers produced by Moeller Brew Barn featuring Shelby 1819 Limited;
• A prepackaged Deterra Drug Deactivation kit; and,
• A Sidney Bicentennial Tree Planting Ceremony program;
“Time capsules can be tricky,” Bicentennial Co-Chair and Shelby County Commissioner Bob Guillozet said. “I will never forget how disappointed we were when we opened the time capsule at the former Children’s Home and found the contents had been exposed to the elements and were pretty much destroyed. We certainly won’t be around when this one is opened, but hopefully the paper items will still be in good shape.”
