Time capsule buried, memorial dedicated in Mount Prospect

Posted October 15, 2017 11:00 pm

By Jean Murphy

Village Trustee Mike Zadel places a shovelful of dirt on top of the time capsules. Courtesy of Mike Zarnek

Saturday morning's rain abated long enough for Mount Prospect officials to squeeze in their long-planned Centennial time capsule burial and memorial dedication in front of the Mount Prospect Village Hall.

Approximately 250 people - including many descendants of the village's founders - turned out with their umbrellas to celebrate the moment.

Mount Prospect's Centennial Commission, Mayor Arlene Juracek, the village's elected officials and representatives of Sevres, its French Sister City, gathered on Mount Prospect's Centennial Green and hastened through the festivities under increasingly threatening skies.

First, they buried a time capsule filled with 2017 memories atop another recently repacked time capsule filled with memorabilia from both Mount Prospect's 50th anniversary celebration in 1967 and its 75th anniversary in 1992.

The new capsule features a large Centennial logo on top, so that there can never be any doubt from which year it hails, and within there are neatly bagged mementos from local organizations and Centennial celebrations, and samples of 2017 technology and children's toys, as well as Chicago sports team items (like a World Series T-shirt) and newspaper articles about the November presidential election and the August eclipse.

It is expected that both capsules will next be unearthed for the village's 150th anniversary in 2067.

Next, the crowd dedicated five bronze plaques on the exterior of the village hall, which honor those who founded Mount Prospect - Ezra Eggleston, John Moehling, William Wille, John Meyn and William Busse.

Members of each family did the unveilings of the memorials, which they helped to finance, while former Mayor Skip Farley handled the honors for Mount Prospect's founder, since no Eggleston descendants were present.

Finally, those gathered unveiled and dedicated five informational, garden-mounted signs near the public sidewalk. One discusses Mount Prospect's early history and the others address the four primary founders' contributions to that history.

Descendants unveiled those as well, and now they will remain in place for years to come to educate residents and visitors about the village's history and founders.

"It is so gratifying to see how the descendants of our founding visionaries rallied to not only memorialize their ancestors, but to also provide a means to share that history and legacy with future generations.

"The community has really embraced our celebrations this year, which I hope is a prediction that 50 years from now there will be similar affection and enthusiasm for the community of Mount Prospect," said Juracek.

Descendants of John Meyn, the local blacksmith, uncover the sign about the part he played in Mount Prospect's founding. His son, Herman, was the community's second mayor. Courtesy of Mike Zarnek

George R. Busse helps the youngest members of the Busse family uncover the garden-mounted informational plaque about William Busse, Mount Prospect's first mayor and a founding father of the village. Courtesy of Mike Zarnek

Mount Prospect Public Works employees carefully lower a time capsule from the Centennial celebration into the hole in front of Mount Prospect's Village Hall. It was placed atop an earlier time capsule with memories from the village's 50th and 75th anniversaries while village dignitaries and representatives of its Sister City, Sevres, France, look on. Courtesy of Mike Zarnek

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