A time capsule for 2068 will show what Everett was thinking

In this 125th year of Everett, people have been jotting down hopes, memories, lists of favorite spots, predictions and a few worries. Preschoolers, imagining their futures, have scrawled pictures in crayon.

All those thoughts and sketches are on postcards, under the heading “Everett: A story worth telling.” On Sunday, at a 2 p.m. event in the Everett Public Library, the cards will be sealed in a time capsule.

If today’s plans are followed a half-century from now, someone will open that time capsule in 2068 and learn what folks were thinking about when Everett turned 125.

“In 50 years I will have horses and kitties,” said one child, whose card is decorated with multicolored critters.

“My favorite place in Everett is by the water — the Sound down at the waterfront,” someone said on one of the cards, which are available at the downtown library and the Evergreen Branch.

Postcard from Akari, 5. The Everett Public Library is hosting a public event to seal the city’s 125th anniversary time capsule — a collection of postcards, including some from preschool children. The capsule will be opened in 50 years. (Courtesy Everett Public Library)

“I liked Everett better when there was only about 25,000 people here and it was fun to wander thru the 5-10 cent stores on Colby — long gone now,” a woman wrote in flowing cursive.

“In 50 years, Everett will unfortunately have many more highrise buildings for luxury people, taking away that small town feel,” another card says.

Everett was incorporated May 4, 1893. Sunday’s closing of the time capsule will be one of several events the city planned for this quasquicentennial year. On June 2, a birthday party for the city brought a crowd to Everett Station. At the library in July, storytellers from the Tulalip Tribes and local historian Jack O’Donnell offered their perspectives on the region’s heritage.

Postcard from JS, 69 (Courtesy Everett Public Library)

Mindy Van Wingen, the library’s assistant director, said Monday the time capsule will be stored in archival space in the library’s sub-basement.

Everett Public Library history specialist Lisa Labovitch is organizing Sunday’s event. It will include a reading of an article published Dec. 24, 1891, in The Everett Herald. Titled “Christmas Eve Fifty Years Off,” the story foretold of an Everett — in 1941 — where passengers could hop on a train “to every part of the country” and where residential neighborhoods had “huge, massive palaces.”

Less than two weeks after the city’s 125th anniversary, Everett lost its premier historian. David Dilgard, described by O’Donnell as “the undisputed master of all the local historians,” died May 17. He was 73.

Postcard from Nathan, 5 (Courtesy Everett Public Library)

For four decades, through his work as a history specialist at the Everett library, Dilgard shared his knowledge of the area’s past and his brilliant wit with library patrons, schoolchildren, and people who attended his programs and walking tours.

As the library prepares to seal the time capsule, its Northwest History Room has a marvelous addition. Dana Dilgard, David’s brother, recently gave the library an oil painting, Van Wingen said. It’s a self-portrait, oil on canvas, that David Dilgard painted as a teenager in 1961.

Now, the framed portrait hangs on a back wall in the Northwest Room, a place where Dilgard spent years as a researcher and helpful friend to the people of Everett.

“He’s part of history,” Van Wingen said. Fifty years from now, the historical work Dilgard did in our time will be valuable still.

Postcard from Adam, 43 (Courtesy Everett Public Library)

The time capsule will contain simple sentiments, some shared by preschoolers who visited the library from the Starbright Early Learning Center. “In 50 years, I hope I can still look for birds in my binoculars,” said one boy, his card decorated with a drawing of a child next to tree.

Others shared substantial thoughts. Alex Alexander, 85, lives on Ebey Island. A descendant of the pioneering Getchell family of the Lowell area, he has researched that part of the Snohomish River. “I included what I think the future role of the river is for Everett,” Alexander said.

In 2068, perhaps, readers of those cards will see if today’s prognosticators got it right.

Postcard from Linnea, 5 (Courtesy Everett Public Library)

When the time capsule is opened, Van Wingen quipped, “Lisa and I will have to get someone to drive us.”

One card writer told of taking two daughters to swim lessons at the Forest Park pool on Saturdays, and then to get treats at Henry’s Donuts on Broadway — followed by a library stop for books.

“In 2068 I hope Everett is a vibrant and prosperous city with a strong sense of community,” that person wrote. “I hope to be alive to see it, but if not I send my love to all!”

Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@heraldnet.com.

Time capsule

The Everett Public Library will host a free celebration at 2 p.m. Sunday to mark the city’s 125th anniversary. Postcards contributed by local people will be placed in the time capsule, which is to be sealed, then opened in 50 years. The Everett Museum of History and the city’s planning department are event co-sponsors. Postcards are available at the Main Library and the Evergreen Branch, 9512 Evergreen Way. Sunday’s event is in the Main Library auditorium, 2702 Hoyt Ave.