The McDonald County Historical Society is among the organizations contributing items to the Missouri Bicentennial Time Capsule.
According to guidelines on the website, organizations are to include an item from the past, an item from the present and a note to future Missourians. Items were to be no larger than legal-sized paper and, combined, no more than a quarter-inch thick.
Phyllis Chancellor, vice president of the historical society, chose the items for the project. She said she chose the historical society's 2021 calendar for the present and an old "Prize Drive" postcard for the past. The letter to future Missourians was written by McDonald County student Leanna Schlessman.
Chancellor said, "The 2021 historical society calendar was selected to be included in the time capsule because it celebrates the 150th anniversary of the historic courthouse. It includes photos of the courthouse throughout the years.
"Also included in the submission to the time capsule was an old postcard of 'The Prize Drive of the Ozarks.' Thousands of tourists have traveled this scenic road throughout the years. Tourism has played an important role in the economic development of the county."
Schlessman, who will be a freshman in high school in the fall, said she was chosen to write the letter after the Lamda Chi sorority read a paper she wrote for an outstanding youth award. Historical society board chair Lynn Tatum was part of the sorority and suggested to Chancellor that Schlessman write the letter for the time capsule, she said.
She said she wrote about Jesse James Days and the beautiful nature in the county and canoeing and tourism and her hopes that all that will be preserved in the future. She also wrote that she hopes that with the new Bella Vista Bypass, more businesses will open and grow the economy.
"It was a one-page letter. It was brief, but I think it described what my hopes are pretty well. I was very honored that I had this opportunity to write, and I hope that my letter will be useful to people in the future," she said.
According to the website, "The Missouri Bicentennial Time Capsule will be sealed on Aug. 27, 2021, at an event in St. Louis hosted by Saint Louis Ambassadors. Once sealed, the time capsule will be housed at the State Historical Society of Missouri until Aug. 10, 2046, when it will be re-opened and shared with the public."