Bridgeport Elementary displays Time Capsule contents

BRIDGEPORT – Just inside the front door of Bridgeport Elementary School, the contents of a 25-year-old time capsule are on display for all to see. The capsule, buried on the site of the Mega Mansion playground when it was built in 1993, was recovered last September when the playground was being dismantled.

School Superintendent Scott Sattler was on hand as school maintenance staff dug up the section of large white PVC pipe with sealed caps on both ends.

As elementary students gathered round, workmen opened the capsule and Sattler carried on a running commentary as he explained the history of the playground and held up class photos, letters, and mementos that were placed in the capsule by students who were enrolled in Bridgeport Elementary at the time the capsule was buried.

Time constraints did not allow everyone on hand for the recovery to see everything that was unearthed, so a display and photo album was assembled so that anyone who is interested can get a look at what was happening 25 years ago.

Shan Miller, manager of Sweet Ts located in the Brewster Pharmacy, spearheaded the fundraising campaign to build the playground and recalled the steps involved.

“We started a non-profit group called Bridgeport Helping Hands,” said Miller. “We worked with Leathers and Associates out of New York, a company that went all over the U.S. helping small communities with projects, particularly playgrounds.”

Leathers laid the groundwork for the Bridgeport project and helped community volunteers organize into committees and raise funds.

Leathers can be found online at www.playgroundbyleathers.com and notes on its website that the company has completed more than 3,300 projects with the help of more than 3 million volunteers and more than 2 million playground ideas collected from kids.

Youngsters played an active in designing the Mega Mansion when it was built, including coming up with the name and providing design ideas, Miller said.

“One of our committees was a Dream Committee comprised of kids,” Miller said.

One of the questions Leathers asked the youngsters was: “If you could have a dream come true, what would you want to have on your playground?”

After a year of planning and fundraising, and four round-the-clock days of construction, Mega Mansion was done.

“Time, much of the materials, and heavy equipment was donated,” Miller said of the estimated $40,000 it cost to build the playground that was valued at several times that amount.

During the fundraising campaign, T-shirts were made and sold to help raise money. When the project was done, Miller was presented with a special quilt made from some of the left-over shirts.

‘I sleep under it every night,” Miller said.