The McClure Historical Society and the McClure community will mark an important moment in local history on Saturday, September 12, 2026, with the dedication and burial of McClure’s new time capsule at Station Park.

The ceremony will begin at 11:00 AM near the community bulletin board, bringing together residents, community leaders, families, and friends to preserve a piece of McClure as it exists today for generations yet to come.

This special event continues a tradition that began fifty years ago. In 1976, during America’s Bicentennial, the people of McClure prepared and buried a time capsule for the future. On June 20, 2026, that capsule was unearthed at Station Park, allowing our community to once again see the photographs, documents, keepsakes, and memories that our neighbors carefully preserved five decades ago.

Now it is our turn.

The new time capsule will contain a collection of items representing life in McClure and the surrounding community in 2026. These materials will tell future generations about our families, churches, businesses, organizations, schools, local government, community traditions, and everyday life during America’s 250th anniversary year.

The capsule is intended to remain sealed for another fifty years and will be opened in 2076, during the 300th anniversary of the United States.

A Community Ceremony

The September 12 ceremony will include remarks and presentations from several members of our community.

Andrew Benner, President of the McClure Historical Society, will serve as emcee.

The program will include remarks from Mayor Dan Sellers, Snyder County Commissioner Adam Ewig, and McClure’s oldest resident, Marie Walter, represented with the assistance of her daughter, Sharon Wright.

Musical selections will be provided by Jayden Wagner, and Denise Boonie, Chair of the Time Capsule Committee, will share the special Letter to the Future prepared for those who will one day open the capsule.

The ceremony will also include the planting of a Liberty Tree, creating a living connection between the generations gathered in Station Park in 2026 and those who will gather there in 2076.

One will rest beneath the ground. One will grow above it.

Together, they will serve as reminders of the people who called McClure home during this historic year.

A Special September 12 Connection

The date of September 12 also carries a special connection to American history.

On September 12, 1782, the Continental Congress formally recommended the first complete English language Bible printed in America, commonly known as the Aitken Bible. As our nation celebrates its 250th anniversary, this historical connection adds another meaningful element to the day and provides an opportunity to recognize the faith that has been important to generations of families in our community.

Commemorative Coins Available

Special commemorative coins created in honor of the September 12 Time Capsule Ceremony will be available for purchase beginning at 10:00 AM at Station Park.

These coins are different from the commemorative coins offered during the June 20 excavation of the 1976 time capsule and were created specifically to remember this next chapter in McClure’s history.

Preserving Today for Tomorrow

A time capsule is much more than a container filled with objects.

It is a message.

It tells people we will never meet that we were here. It tells them what mattered to us, what our community looked like, what we celebrated, and what we hoped McClure might become.

Fifty years from now, many things will have changed. New generations will call McClure home. Station Park may look different. Technology will certainly have changed. Yet when this capsule is opened in 2076, the people gathered there will have an opportunity to reach back through time and meet the McClure community of 2026.

We hope you will be part of this historic day.

Saturday, September 12, 2026

11:00 AM

Station Park, McClure

Near the Community Bulletin Board

Commemorative coin sales begin at 10:00 AM.

Please bring a lawn chair and join us as we preserve a piece of McClure today for the generations of tomorrow.