Time Capsule Remains Buried
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
Any potential drama awaiting the opening of the 1976 Opelousas Bicentennial capsule scheduled to be unearthed on Saturday at the Opelousas Public Library will apparently have to wait a little longer.
A Bicentennial Commission capsule whose contents are sealed in stainless steel and wrapped inside a larger plastic container was buried on library property with the instructions that the capsule would be opened 50 years later on July 4, 2026.
Main Street director Melanie LeBouef told St. Landry Now.com on Thursday that she has been unable to locate individuals who might know how the capsule can be unlocked in order to peer inside.
According to a Daily World article the time capsule and what was placed inside were a project of a Bicentennial Commission and Humble Cottage Lodge No. 19.
LeBouef said during a telephone interview that she has been unable to contact anyone associated with the Lodge located on South Main Street, the Commission or anyone else who may have been associated with the Bicentennial Commission 50 years ago.
The capsule and its contents are presumably still locked and buried in front of the library, which is currently undergoing extensive renovations.
None of the Opelousas city officials have stepped forward to indicate that they are aware of the capsule and the intention that it was scheduled to be opened on Saturday.
St. Landry Now.com became aware of the capsule on Sunday night when Carolyn Cox Dupre, whose husband Butch Dupre, was a member of the Opelousas Board of Aldermen when the capsule was interred in front of the library.
Butch Dupre said during the same phone interview that he remembered the capsule was scheduled to be extracted on Saturday.
What’s In The Capsule?
The Daily World article copied and emailed to St. Landry Now.com by LeBouef, indicates that multiple Opelousas civic organizations were involved in the Bicentennial project.
One footnote the capsule is expected to contain the article says, is a history of the Bicentennial project and information provided by organizations like the Catholic Daughters of America, Opelousas Women’s Club, Opelousas Civic League, Pilot Club, Opelousas Rotary Club, Kiwanis Club, a Daily World special Bicentennial edition and an audio tape produced by KSLO station manager Johnny Wright.
There is also a list of Opelousas city officials in 1976 and several recipes and photos of events from 1976, the story says.
