A 24-year-old time capsule was recently discovered at Eagle Hill Middle School and one teacher has made it her mission to reunite the capsule’s contents with the alumni who helped assemble it.
Eagle Hill Middle School teacher and Fayetteville-Manlius alum Meaghan Bedigian is coordinating the effort to return the contents of the time capsule to members of F-M’s graduating class of 2006.
In 2000, then sixth graders at Eagle Hill began creating the time capsule. Each student was given a resealable plastic bag to fill with items to commemorate the year. Items included photos, current events timelines, artwork and letters from themselves, parents and teachers. The bags, along with a sheet signed by each student, were boxed up and stored away in 2001.
The intention was for the students to open the time capsule when they graduated from F-M High School in 2006, but that never happened.
“Everyone must have forgotten,” said Mrs. Bedigian.
This past February, Eagle Hill custodial staff discovered the time capsule located in the ceiling storage space above the school’s cafeteria.
According to Mrs. Bedigian, the time capsule was placed in the main office where a staff member recognized Mrs. Bedigians maiden name on one of the bags and placed it in her school mailbox. It was then she learned about the discovery of the time capsule and decided to take on the responsibility of trying to return the bags to their rightful owners.
“I couldn’t believe the time capsule had resurfaced after more than two decades,” said Mrs. Bedigian. “It brought me so much joy to go through the items in my bag and relive my time as a student at Eagle Hill.”
Hoping to share that feeling with her former classmates, Mrs. Bedigian began reaching out via social media to locate the owners of the time capsule bags.
“The response has been overwhelming,” shared Mrs. Bedigian. “A lot of people have messaged me and have asked to have their bags mailed to them. I’m shipping them across the country and even as far away as South Korea.”
Mrs. Bedigian says the time spent coordinating this effort has been well worth it.
“I’ve been able to reconnect with classmates I haven’t spoken to in years,” said Mrs. Bedigian. “There’s a group that’s having a girls weekend and they are all waiting to open their bags together. I also connected with the parents of a classmate who passed away after our time as students at F-M. I was able to give them their son’s bag, it was truly special.”
Of the 170 bags in the time capsule, approximately 75 have been returned to alumni as of March 17.
If members of the class of 2006 who attended Eagle Hill would like to reclaim their bag, please reach out to Meaghan Bedigian at mbedigian@fmschools.org.