Essays, photos, tap water found inside 34-year-old time capsule

LAKE RIDGE — Chris Purdam pulled a manila envelope out of the steel canister where it had been sealed for the past 34 years.

Inside, a hand-written essay he had penned back in 1985. He was 13 at the time, writing for a school assignment to write about what he thought Prince William County would look like in 30 years.

“There just beginning to clear the trees for Potomac Mills,” he wrote. “It’s supposed to be the biggest shopping all on the east coast… when I’m old and gray, and my kids have kids, all of the trees will be gone.”

Purdam recalled writing the essay like it was yesterday. He joined a group of about 30 people who gathered at the Old Mill at Tacketts Mill Lakeside where, 34 years earlier, a time capsule had been buried.

In addition to his essay, also inside was a rotary phone, a 45” single from the female rock band “The Go-Gos,” a Prince William Pirates baseball jersey (known today as the Potomac Nationals), a copy of the Potomac News, the once-daily newspaper for the region, and a Mason jar filled with tap water from Dale City.

When workers drilled open the lid to the capsule, hordes gathered around the cylinder with excitement. A two-feet deep steel container used to preserve the artifacts was unearthed an opened today, May 29, on the 50th anniversary of the founding of Lake Ridge.

40 years ago, Tackett’s Mill was the county’s first mixed-use town center offering a retail shops, a grocery store, and office space next to a lake. The shopping center and the old mill, which houses the old Tacketts Mill, a grist mill that used to sit in Stafford County and was relocated to the shopping center when it opened prior to Potomac Mills.

“Every piece of architecture here has a story to tell,” said Dr. Jack Kooyoonjian, along time Lake Ridge resident and member of the area civic association.

Kooyoonjian, and Kathleen Seefeldt, former Chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors served as guests of honor at the event.

Inside the copy of the Potomac News newspaper was the spring 1985 fashion guide which reported: “shape huggers are back in style.” There was also news of the new movie “Witness” which was described as a “taut thriller starring Harrison Ford, now showing at the Manassas Mall cinemas.”

Those cinemas, in case you’re wondering, were located inside the mall across from the food court.

The contents of the time capsule will be displayed for the public at the Tackett’s Mill Lakeside on Saturday, June 15 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., as part of the center’s annual “SummerFest,” a family festival featuring live music, kids activities, and refreshments.

A total of 20 essays, including Purdham’s piece on the vanishing number of trees, will also be on display June 15. Those essays, all by Prince William County Public School children at the time, were all published in the Potomac News, and discuss issues like commuting, preserving open space.

There’s also an essay on the importance of Benita Fitzgerald’s gold medal win in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games. The athlete has a street in Dale City named for her and still lives in the county. A photo of Fitzgerald was also buried in the capsule.

Tacketts Mill is located at 2228 Tacketts Mill Drive in Lake Ridge.