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The Centennial Time Capsule

The Centennial Celebration of Maryland Forestry and State Parks offered us an opportunity to think about future generations and how our environmental stewardship will benefit them. We can also try to envision how they will preserve, protect, enhance and enjoy Maryland’s public lands 100 years from now.

During this 2006-2007 Centennial Year, we prepared a time capsule to be opened in the year 2107. The gifts we choose to send forth to those who will follow will include information and artifacts about the work we do today and our message to those in the future. A century from now, these will be priceless treasures to future generations.

The time capsule is 12 inches wide by 36 inches long. The Centennial Time Capsule, will be placed at Gambrill State Park on July 31, 2007, on the same day Helen Besley Overington, daughter of Maryland's first State Forester, Fred W. Besley, celebrates her 100th birthday.

What’s in the Maryland Forestry and Parks Centennial Time Capsule?

In Hard Form:

1. Miniature reproduction of a ca. 1950 forest fire truck
2. Commemorative Centennial baseball from Bowie Baysox vs. Altoona Curve game, July 21,2006, with accompanying handbill
3. A piece of the Wye Oak, with certificate of authenticity
4. Robert F. Bailey III’s book Maryland’s Forests and Parks: A Century of Progress
5. Copies of invitations to and programs for all Centennial plaque dedications
6. Copies of all Maryland Park Service trail guides from the Centennial year
7. 2006 general guide to Maryland forests and parks
8. 2006 reprint of F.W. Besley’s 1938 booklet Forest Trees of Maryland
9. Brochure titled History of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Forest Service Wildfire Program
10. DVD copy of Maryland Public Television’s documentary The Best Days of Our Lives: The Centennial of Maryland State Forests and Parks
11. Handful of Centennial wooden nickels (hand them out, like we did)
12. Maryland Park Service uniform shoulder patch with the logo (re)adopted in 2006
13. Centennial shirt pin worn by all uniformed Maryland Park Service personnel on their uniforms during the Centennial (larger of the two pin types)
14. Maryland Forestry and Parks Centennial commemorative patch
15. Maryland Forestry and Parks Centennial civilian commemorative lapel pin (the smaller of two pin types)
16. Ditto, first run, with “Centennial” misspelled (a collector’s item!)
17. Copy of Centennial “fast facts” wallet card that was carried by all Maryland Park Service employees during the Centennial year
18. Copy of The Maryland Natural Resource magazine, vol. 9, no. 2 (Spring 2006) with a special insert on Maryland forest and park history
19. Maryland Forest Service 2006 Centennial wall calendar
20. Copy of the 2006 booklet Destination Maryland: The Official Guide to Maryland State Travel, which promoted the Centennial
21. Copy of Mountain Discoveries issue of fall and winter 2006, with articles on forestry in Maryland
22. Maryland Park Service “Junior Ranger” and “Park Pals” patches from the 2006 season
23. Special commemorative badge worn by Maryland Park Service law enforcement officers during the Centennial
24. Maryland Park Service flag, adopted in 2006
25. Centennial banner