After workers helping to renovate the Anson County Courthouse exterior found a time capsule at the base of the Confederate Soldier statue last month, some Ansonians’ interest has been piqued as to what items the time capsule might contain.
“It was put there for the county’s bicentennial [in 1949] and isn’t supposed to be opened until October 2049,” said Jeff Waisner, director of parks and recreation and facilities maintenance for the county. He added that county officials knew there was a time capsule by the statue, but did not know its exact location until it was found on June 11.For years, it had been hidden by vegetation that had grown at the base of the statue.
Sarah Huntley Kemm, a native of Wadesboro who now lives in High Point, saw the article in the June 20 edition of The Anson Record, and it sparked several memories. Kemm wrote a letter to the editor, which appeared in last week’s issue.
Kemm’s father, Fulton Allen Huntley, was chairman of the county’s bicentennial committee, and Kemm said she remembers her father always telling her and her sisters about the time capsule. “He always told us to be sure to tell our children and grandchildren about the time capsule,” Kemm said in a phone interview Monday afternoon. “He wanted to be sure that people remembered it was there.”
When asked about her memories of the bicentennial, Kemm said, “I remember that all the men in the county grew beards for the bicentennial. A day or two after the bicentennial, this man drove up in my daddy’s car… I was 4 years old at the time… and I said, ‘Who are you?’ He had shaved his beard and I didn’t recognize him without it.”
Kemm added that there was a parade and a pageant as part of the bicentennial, both of which she and her sisters participated in. “It was a big to-do because we were older than the United States,” she recalled. “Anson County was founded in 1749, and the United States didn’t have its bicentennial until 1976. At that time [during the 1700s], Anson County extended all the way to the Mississippi River.”
Do you have memories of the bicentennial celebration in 1949? If so, please contact editor Abby Cavenaugh at 704-694-2161 or acavenaugh@heartlandpublications.com. We would love to hear your stories.
Post a Comment
