When 2020 rolled around, UMD was reeling from an international pandemic, so the 125th anniversary of when Minnesota Governor David. M. Clough signed legislation in the founding of UMD, came and went without much fanfare. That legislation was signed on April 2, 1895 and approved the creation of the State Normal School of Duluth.
Eventually, the campus did collect a mementos to fill a time capsule. COVID-19 safety gear joined Hockey Championship rings alongside other era-specific trappings, including telephone technology, key chains, and many printed pieces. It all came together in an assembly of accessories designed to give a future generation a flavor of the 2020s.
The items were carefully placed in archival wrapping and stored in a remarkable container. The wooden box was specially made by the crew in the UMD facilities department from part of a grain elevator used during the 1890s. (Look carefully in the 1890s Duluth Harbor photo above. You’ll see grain elevators far off in the background.)
UMD is looking ahead to 2095, the 200th anniversary of UMD’s inception. That’s the year the box will be opened again. Until then, the time capsule is in the second floor lobby of A.B. Anderson Hall, inside a display case.
There are several other time capsules on campus, and they are hiding their secrets for now. The oldest (2010) is in Kirby Student Center, behind a plaque. Another (2013) is in the Swenson Civil Engineering Building, also behind a plaque. A third is in the Heikkila Chemistry and Advanced Materials Building (2019) on visible display in a glass case. There’s a rumor that there is a fifth, a time capsule from the early 1950s buried somewhere on Kirby Drive. It may just be a rumor because so far, digging up the ground for routine maintenance hasn’t yielded any surprises.
