Well, thanks to the enthusiasm of Village Manager Andy Wilkison and Tufts Archivist Audrey Moriarty, we are going to have a Pinehurst Century Chest Letter box, to be opened in 2105, to show our ancestors what a cross section of Pinehurst life was like 100 years earlier.
For Pinehurst’s posterity, the Century Chest will be sealed in a ceremony July 4, 2005, at the Fourth of July Parade, and kept at the Tufts Archives for the next 100 years, to be opened July 4, 2105.
We know that 2005 is an important year for Pinehurst as it hosts the USGA U.S. Open Golf Tournament for the second time.
Anyone who feels that they could describe a portion of their Pinehurst life, which might be of interest to Pinehurst residents in 2105, should send their letter to the Organizing Committee, c/o Audrey Moriarty, Tufts Archives P.O. Box 159, Pinehurst, NC 28370, or call 910 295-3642, or e-mail tuftsarchives@earthlink.net.
The letters should include a picture of the contributor and a brief biography. Such submissions will not be returned and may or may not be used at the discretion of the committee, which requests a first draft by April 30 or sooner.
The Organizing Committee is Audrey Moriarty, Andy Thomas and Andy Wilkison.
The collection of letters from various Pinehurst constituents, to be included in the Century Chest, will include topics such as local politics, infrastructure, water, planning, lore, living, fashion arts and culture, transportation, taxes, ethics, medicine, procedures, business and professional, technology and aviation, parenting, student life, a typical Pinehurst day in 2005, and a few things of national interest.
We have invited President Bush to write a brief note. Gov. Mike Easley will also be asked to comment.
The medical section, for example, might break down to possible topics including obesity, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, cholesterol, common procedures, eye surgery, nurses, fitness, mad cow disease, bird flu, liposuction, common cold, botox and facelifts.
Letters, newspapers, magazines, menus and other documents reflecting a cross section of Pinehurst life in 2005 will be included for the Pinehurst citizens of 2105 to view and gain an insight into our lives today.
This whole idea of a “Century Chest of Letters” emanated from a similar project that was undertaken in my home town, Colorado Springs, in the year 1901, where such a “Century Chest of Letters” was opened in 2001.
Judy Finley, my classmate at Colorado Springs High, edited and published a book, “The Century Chest Letters of 1901: A Colorado Springs Legacy,” which showed the foresight and concern that the citizens of 1901 had for their descendants 100 years later.
In the Colorado Chest were writings of a cross section of Colorado Springs people at the time, including a pioneer settler, a cowboy musician, Gen. William Palmer, founder of Colorado Springs, the mayor, physicians, clergy, a real estate broker, an architect, a socialite, a mother, a housewife, a businessman, a newspaper editor, Colorado College president Slocum, a professor and students, a Democrat, a Republican, and Vice President Teddy Roosevelt, who, one month after recording his message for the Chest, became president when William McKinley was assassinated.
The Colorado chest was a 15-by-20-by-30-inch lead-lined steel box sealed with 200 rivets. The plaque on the front of the chest read, “To the Citizens of Colorado Springs of the Twenty-first Century — To be Opened after Midnight December 31st A.D. 2000.”
One of the 1901 contributors wrote, “One of the characteristics of our age is the desire to go everywhere in a hurry; horses are no longer speedy enough. The electric trolley and bicycle are our chief means of transportation. A few automobiles have appeared but they are too costly, noisy and smelly.”
It was opened with great fanfare and celebration on Jan. 1, 2001, and later, a similar collection of papers was sealed in the same container for residents in 2101 A.D.
Our committee got a quote for a chest of the same style and dimensions. It was almost $1,000. So if anyone knows a way to construct a cheaper safe, fireproof box for this purpose, please contact the committee.
We encourage Pinehurst residents of all ages, interests and persuasions to write a letter about their lives which their ancestors might enjoy 100 years from now.
The committee reserves the right to use, or not, material received, which will not be returned.
Just imagine the state of Pinehurst in 2105. Wouldn’t we like to know!
Andy Thomas lives in Pinehurst. Contact him at dahtmuth58@aol.com
