A sturdy, metal box sits leisurely in the Office of Marketing and Communication waiting patiently for its relocation to the Allegheny Archives. It is the newly-excavated Caflisch Time Capsule, discovered during the demolition of Caflisch Hall, which used to house upperclassmen and was known for its complex layout and floor plans.
Now, after the dust has settled, the capsule begins another life unearthed; open for its contents to tell the story of another time. While the contents of the capsule are to be admired, the case being intact after surviving a building demolition is a marvel in itself. Nearly 100 years old to the date it was open, papers inside record Meadville and Allegheny College events from June to October 1928.
It also comes complete with building plans for Caflisch and Arter Hall, Meadville city meeting minutes, and a 1927-28 catalog for the Allegheny acaademic year. The Tribune Republican, a local Meadville publication, even states the weather for Oct. 27, 1928; “Slightly warmer today, rain tonight; fair sun.”
Included are four issues of The Campus, dating back to 1928, detailing stories, events and happenings at Allegheny. In the edition from Oct. 10, the reader is introduced to some new friendly faces within the faculty. “Careers and experiences of new members are quite interesting,” the story says as it introduces Anna Schafheitlin, an associate professor of German, and Horace Lavely, an assistant professor of philosophy and education and 1912 graduate of Allegheny College.
The issue also details the proposal of a campus bookstore by Professor Emeritus of English Stanley S. Swartley. He noted the lack of enthusiasm students had when it came to reading and named some favorite pastimes of 1920s college students; objects like a “talking machine, a radio set, ill-assorted pictures and photo sets, college pillows and a pitiably small row of dull, drab textbooks” taking up the time of students shares some comical similarities to the pastimes of students today. This just goes to show as much as things change, the more they stay the same in some way or another.
Another story features a student raving about the newly implemented dishware to the campus dining halls.
“Then, again, these dishes are thick, let alone hard and stony, and won’t break,” the student said. “When a fellow goes to knife a steak, even if he does make a bad slip and the dish falls to the floor, it won’t break.”
The Tribune Republican also detailed international relations and news from other media outlets. An Associated Press story recounts statements from then-U.K Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin amidst accusations of trying to outperform the U.S Navy.
Another story commemorates the events of a birthday celebration for 26th U.S President Theodore Roosevelt at his gravesite, who would have turned 70 that year.
The economic differences can also be seen in this paper’s advertisement section, with one setting the price of a six-bedroom house at $8,500.
In addition to the many stories and anecdotes from the newspapers, there also were three significant booklets; one that kept the minutes of a Meadville city annual meeting from June 11, 1928, a Allegheny charter from 1923, and a catalogue of Allegheny from the 1927-28 school year.
The Allegheny catalogue provided a description and inventory of the Reis Library, which had been in operation for over 25 years at that time. The building is noted for its Italian Renaissance style and terracotta trimmings, but the catalogue explained that extensive repairs had taken place in the past year. The library boasted a collection of 70,000 books and was described as “for many years, the best west of the Alleghenies.”
Some of the courses listed for the school year included Advanced Latin Composition — specifically aimed toward graduate students — Roman History, Topography and Architecture, and Mathematics of Finance.
Time travel as we know it is impossible even with the scientific advancements we have today. However, with this time capsule, a small sliver of the past has been preserved for us to examine. We can travel through time to reflect on the world that we once inhabited for all its flaws and triumphs.
Whether it be celebrating the new addition of sturdier dinner plates in dining halls or congratulating new staff members on their induction to Allegheny College faculty, we can also recognize how similar our lives are to the people who came before us. Because of the discovery of the capsule under Caflisch Hall, the lives of the individuals who inhabited the same halls students, staff and faculty walk through today can be remembered once more.