Capsule was buried in 1961
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
The Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) took a peek into the past on July 26 when representatives from the organization opened a time capsule that was buried 55 years ago.
It was buried when the organization moved its headquarters from Chicago to Bloomington in 1961. The time capsule was opened to celebrate the IFB's 100th anniversary.
Items from a time capsule buried by the IFB in 1961
Photo: Adam Studzinski/WJBC
Some of the items included:
- Meeting minutes from the organization's annual meeting in 1920,
- A 1941 edition of the IAA Record magazine celebrating the IFB's 25th anniversary,
- An IFB policy resolutions book from 1961,
- And a fence sign that belonged to then President Otto Steffey.
Of all the items inside, the fence sign brought out a sense of community.
“I just think it is the neatest thing,” Allison Carr, the Illinois Farm Bureau’s corporate archivist told The Pantagraph. “It shows that people cared a lot about (Steffey) and that they wanted him to be remembered in the future.
Work is already starting to fill a new time capsule that will be opened in 2066.
Current IFB President Richard Guebert said it will include letters from each county farm bureau.