Simms ISD uncovers forgotten piece of school history

Article of the Bowie County Life

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

 

By Megan Baker

Bowie County Life

A piece of history was uncovered

Sunday at James Bowie ISD.

Rumors of a time capsule have

circulated in the area for years, and

these rumors proved to be true when

Superintendent Rex Burks and others

recently found the capsule.

The hunt for the capsule began

in early November 2008 and were

resumed this month. The search was

sparked when original blueprints

were needed in the renovation of the

school's rock building. No plans were

found, but some said the plans were

inside this capsule behind the cornerstone

and dedication plate.

Burks said the district asked a brick

mason to remove the capsule, but it

became obvious a different approach

was needed.

"We knew the capsule was located

in the concrete behind the dedication

plague," Burks said. "When we were

unable to locate it from the exterior of

the building, I measured an area and

proceeded from the interior.

"I rented a jackhammer and started

drilling through the concrete around

3 p.m. that Sunday. Four hours later,

I was exhausted and wasn't having

much luck. I called Russell Meadows

and Bo Rogers for help. One of our

maintenance workers, Elbert Roach,

was also there to assist. Around 10

p.m. we finally located the capsule.

It was encased in a copper tube and

it was so thin that I ran the jackhammer

straight through its center. We

didn't know what the capsule would

look like, I thought it would be inside

a vault or hollow area of the concrete.

That wasn't the case. I was in it before

I knew it."

The copper tube was pliable enough

for Burks and the others to use pliers to

peel back the tube.

The contents contained copies of

the Texarkana Gazette, Bowie County

News and several things from the

Texas Centennial celebrations.

The newspapers were dated May 21,

1936.

An article in the paper told of the

dedication ceremony and laying of the

school's cornerstone.

Officials present at the dedication

included L.A. Woods, superintendent

of the school, W.P. Akin, dean of

Texarkana College, and C.E. Weaver.

Woods supervised the laying of the

cornerstone, and a photograph depicted

a person holding what is to be

believed the time capsule.

Other contents of the capsule included

postage stamps, building blueprints

and documents from the dedication

service.

The original building was built in the

shape of an 'L.' Its wings measured 59

feet by 264 feet and 56 feet by 99 feet.

"We'd like to preserve and display the

contents of the capsule," Burks said.

"We were also able to obtain architectural

plans that will help in the future

renovation plans for the school."

"