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A moment in time: Huntingdon Arts Council, kids create time capsule

By Jayla Nartatez 5 min read

HUNTINGDON -- Full of pride and hope for future generations of the community, the Huntingdon County Arts Council sealed a time capsule Thursday evening that is set to be open in 25 years.

The time capsule celebrates the "Kindness lives here" project, a replica of downtown Huntingdon and the local kids who created the model, a "love letter" to Huntingdon and a dedication to the small town that residents call home.

"A big important part of this project and event is to connect generation to generation," Kelly Cunningham said. "I thought it was a special idea to kind of freeze Huntingdon where it is now and our hopes and dreams of what it can become in 25 years from now."

Over two weeks in the summer, nine children, ages 5 to 12, attended the Huntingdon County Arts Council's kids art summer camp and worked to build a 4-by-8-foot version of today's borough. Cunningham, the camp instructor, guided the kids to choose their favorite places in town where they've made good memories and experienced acts of kindness.

"The kids were so enthusiastic the entire time doing this project. It was so fun to watch their ideas and they got really excited about learning about their town," Cunningham said.

Inside the time capsule box, the arts council placed two photo albums, an interactive book about the replica, an article from the Altoona Mirror and The Huntingdon Daily News, letters from community members who attended the event, some business cards and trinkets.

In July 2051, the time capsule will be opened, but for now, the box will remain at the arts council. The downtown model of Huntingdon will be on display at the Huntingdon County Library for the public to see.

At the time capsule event, members from the community showed support for the arts council and kids involved as the night was about celebrating their hard work.

"Having the community show up to show the kids that what they did was important and special is amazing. I hope that they feel in their little hearts and see throughout the years that what they did was really special,"

Cunningham said.

Putting together the time capsule was council board member Mary Louise Dietrich's idea because she wanted to commemorate the children who put down their technology and showed interest in their town. When Dietrich saw the children working on the model, she was amazed.

"There was just something that made me almost have this renewed hope that we're not losing sight of our roots and that we're not losing sight of our traditions," Dietrich said.

During the project, the kids took their creativity and stories behind their connection with the town to design Huntingdon through their eyes. Each child focused on replicating buildings, businesses and areas in the community and used figurines to recreate people they've seen or interacted with.

Frankie Kidd, 9, created the dance studio and the library because she has had a lot of fun dancing there for three years and has many memorable stories. She enjoyed working on the project with the other kids and looks forward to when the time capsule will be opened.

"We loved to see each other's creations in the process," she said.

Dietrich chose a 25-year timeframe because at that time, the children will be about the same age as their parents are now. She and Cunningham said this project represents a generational impact as they want the town to continue to grow for the next generation so they can feel a sense of community.

While Kidd said 25 years is a long time, she hopes that within those years, Huntingdon will still keep the memorable places alive, but also have new places so she can see the changes and remember how special the town was.

Something that became apparent to Cunningham throughout this project, is that the business owners of downtown Huntingdon have a big impact on these children and are positive role models for them. She said that each child was able to build this replica because business owners have given the children nice memories and have shown them what a community looks like.

"Having these kids show appreciation for places they love to go and things that they enjoy doing, I'm seeing that our younger generation is really loving our town and it's been really invigorating to look at these young kids,"

Cunningham said.

Watching the children's determination during the project, Dietrich said it's important for future generations to see because it will show residents of Huntingdon the love and time the kids spent recreating their "home."

Looking 25 years into the future, Cunningham and Dietrich hope that the children return to see the time capsule open and recognize what they accomplished at such a young age.

"I hope this week, and being invited to come back to the art council, can make them feel how important and how special each person is and the impact that they can make individually," Cunningham said. "People are going to be coming to see this project and it is going to be a community installation for everyone to see."

Mirror Staff Writer Jayla Nartatez is at 814-946-7535.

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