Alleged Time Capsule Still on Wanted List

This rural city has been scoured from top to bottom. Libraries have been searched and City Hall archives purged. The Historical Society has been consulted and old newspapers gleaned for clues.

Still, no evidence exists that a time capsule was buried in Fillmore. Even so, Fillmore Deputy City Clerk Steve McClary won’t give up the hunt.

It has been nearly a year since McClary took on the task of finding the capsule. The goal was to have it opened by New Year’s Day 2000.

Since beginning the search last September, McClary has sought help from just about everyone in Fillmore, including the Boy Scouts.

He has talked to retired city workers, law enforcement officials, politicians and residents who have lived here for at least 25 years.

“I haven’t given up, because I still think there’s something out there,” McClary said.

Jennifer Laurence was working as a nursing assistant in the early 1970s when Fillmore officials were said to have buried a time capsule containing documents and other objects.

Like everyone else, Laurence can’t remember exactly where the capsule was supposedly buried. And like others, Laurence has a theory.

“We used to decorate a tree near the old Bank of America building on the corner of Central Avenue and Main Street,” she said. “And there was something about that tree in that park that attracted a lot of attention. There were a lot of ceremonies held there, a lot of city events.”

McClary said he has heard people theorize that the capsule is buried there. He said he might ask city workers to dig in “a place or two,” but he didn’t reveal the locations.

“I don’t want to cause a stir,” McClary said.