Time capsule ceremony held at Century Casino

CAPE GIRARDEAU Mo. (KBSI) – Century Casino held a time capsule ceremony to commemorate the total solar eclipse.

Amid the April 8 solar eclipse, Vice President and General Manager of Century Casino, Lyle Randolph says this is truly a once in a lifetime event, being that the next time an eclipse will reach totality at Cape Girardeau’s exact coordinates 300 years from now.

“We’re going to seal a time capsule, bury it into the ground. Hopefully, it will be opened in the future at the next total solar eclipse here in Cape Girardeau.” Said Randolph.

Visitors at the ceremony were given the option to write special notes to add to the capsule and a collection of objects which Missouri State Representative John Voss mentions during the ceremony.

Voss says, “We have 2 or 3 things here that I’d just like to share with you. We have the United States flag and the Missouri State flag that were both flown over the Missouri capital. And there are certificates inside the capsule that detail that information. And we’ve got a courtesy resolution that I’d like to read to you now.”

Visitors were assured that their notes to the future would be protected and secured inside the capsule for the next few hundred years. including a heavy manhole cover to secure the container.

Randolph tells them, “The location of the time capsule and instructions will be recorded with the International Registry of Time Capsules. The precise coordinates will be recorded with the public record in the event in majority of the Capsule contents will be documents by public media sources.”

According to Randolph, a special marker will be placed at the location that will also provide information about the capsule, and the ground has been prepared with a special sleeve to hold the container.

The next total eclipse in Cape Girardeau will be in 2343.