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August 11th, 2006
BRADENTON - Students and staff at King Middle School sent a reminder of themselves to the future Friday. During a morning ceremony at the recently rebuilt school, Principal Joe Stokes placed a time capsule in a square brick column situated squarely in the middle of King's courtyard.
The time capsule ceremony was scheduled to celebrate the completion of the new school. As students and staff surrounded the courtyard and looked on from second-story balconies, Stokes dropped the time capsule into a three-foot high column made from bricks saved from the original King Middle building. The column will be sealed with a concrete slab that contains the school's original dedication plate dating back to December 1978.
The contents that filled the time capsule included photos of students and staff during construction of the new school, notes from teachers, copies of student schedules, a physical education uniform and a copy of Friday's newspaper headlined by stories of the latest terrorism plot aimed at the United States and Britain
Stokes told the students he included a few special items of his own, including a letter to whoever will be the principal on August 11, 2031, when the capsule is scheduled to be opened.
“I put $7 into the time capsule,” Stokes said. “I put $3 in because that's the price of a gallon of gas now, and I put $4 in because that's how much it costs for a Caffe Latte at Starbucks.”
King 8th grader Chandler McClung said she's glad to know that memories of her time at King are being preserved for the future.
“It's a great idea,” McClung said. “I want to come back when they open it.” Lauren Woodson, also an 8th grader, said students and staff at the school are very appreciative of their dazzling new home. While King was being rebuilt, the faculty and students held school across town at Braden River High.
“The new school is really nice,” Woodson said. “It's so big, you can get lost easily; but I like it.”
The original dedication plate for King contains the names of School Board members S. Lyman Chennault, Marjorie Kinnan, Louise R. Johnson, Elizabeth Nevin and Gilbert McNeal. The Superintendent at the time was Dr. William Bashaw.
Kinnan, Johnson, McNeal and Bashaw all have Manatee County schools named in their honor. Kinnan's son, Harry Kinnan, is currently a member of the Manatee County School Board and represented the school board on the King rebuilding committee.
When the old King building was torn down, Stokes said he was told there was a time capsule to be found among the rubble. “We never found it,” Stokes said. “We shouldn't have that problem this time capsule since its sitting right in the middle of our campus.”