Time capsule opens window into Arlington Heights church’s past

A recently discovered time capsule from the 1950s offered parishioners attending Sunday Mass at St. James Parish in Arlington Heights a glimpse into the Catholic church’s past.

The contents, spread across a table in the church lobby, included pages of a history of the parish and a list of the workers who built the church. Photos of nuns who taught at the parish school and the pastor at the time, the Rev. George J. Stier, also graced the display.

“Today, as the laying of the cornerstone of a new church is witnessed by the parishioners of St. James, the blossoming into new fruit has been unfolded,” Stier wrote in the history, dated Sept. 24, 1950.

The current pastor, the Rev, Ed Pelrine, said the time capsule was discovered last week when the church’s cornerstone was removed during tuckpointing work.

“They are going to redo it (the cornerstone), because it’s kind of falling apart. And they found this time capsule behind it,” he said.

The artifacts brought back memories for 93-year-old Mount Prospect resident John Abbs, who attended St. James school in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

“(Stier) smoked cigars,” recalled Abbs, who belongs to one of four generations of a family that attends St. James. “And he was the boss. He ruled things.”

Abbs also remembered one of the nuns in pictures, Sister M. Aloys, as his fourth grade teacher.

“It’s pretty incredible that St. James has such a long history,” said Abbs’ granddaughter, Lauren Orf.

“It has stayed a pretty robust community,” she added, while referring to her grandfather as “our time capsule.”

“He remembers everything about St. James,” she said.

Worshippers at Sunday Mass were encouraged write letters, create drawings and contribute items for the time capsule, which will be returned to the cornerstone and opened in 75 years.

Among the items to be included are a church bulletin, a letter from the pastor, a St. James school uniform, a class list and a staff photo from the 2023-24 school year.

Lucy Dobek Behrns of Arlington Heights was among those putting new items in the time capsule. She wrote a letter and added a mask — a reminder that parishioners lived through the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Future generations hopefully don’t have to go through the three years, four years that we suffered,” she said.