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DON’T OPEN UNTIL 2118
City of Manteca centennial time capsule
capsules
Holding the City of Manteca centennial pole banner that is being placed in the time capsule are East Union Memorial Cemetery volunteers Janet Fiore, Gloria Stanley, and Janice Zacharias.

Time will tell what people a century from now think of Manteca today.

And one way they may get a take on Manteca is via old school tech by digging up a time capsule being buried at the East Union Memorial Cemetery near the intersection of Union Road and Louise Avenue.

The City of Manteca displayed the items that are being buried during a Centennial Time Capsule Ceremony on Tuesday at the East Union cemetery.

“A lot of stuff we see here illustrates what we are and how we got here,” Manteca Mayor Ben Cantu told the gathering.

The capsule will be buried near the historic cemetery entrance arch with a plaque noting its location. It is not to be opened until 2118.

It will include city memorabilia, items from legacy businesses and churches, several organizations and miscellaneous history items.

Duplicate items of what is being placed in the time capsule will eventually be displayed at the Manteca Historical Museum according to Jeanette Farley who worked on collecting items for the capsule.

Among the city items are a centennial pole banner and other centennial items such as a T-shirt, patch, Family Fun Run medal, and Manteca Bulletin centennial magazine. There is a bright red blazer with the city’s seal that council members wore in the 1980s and items ranging from a Parks & Recreation Guide to photos of the current City Council and department heads.

Organizations represented are the Manteca Chamber of Commerce, Manteca Mural Society, and Manteca Historical Society.

Information on legacy businesses and churches that were honored during the centennial year that will be in the capsule are the American legion, Center Appliance, East Union Memorial Cemetery, Delicato Family Wines, Manteca Bulletin P.L. Fry & Son Funeral Home, Sadie’s Salon, South San Joaquin Irrigation District, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, and the Manteca-Ripon Pentecost Society.

Other items include Manteca history books by Evelyn Prouty and Alice Coon, a book on the history of Spreckels Sugar, as shopping-dining-hotel guide, information on the Great Wolf Lodge and Manteca Bulletin stories.

Cantu said he was asked about where the time capsule was buried at the Old City Hall building given he went to work for the city in August 1971. After noting he pointed out that the two-story brick building that still stands in the 100 block of Sycamore Street was constructed in 1923, long before he was born, Cantu noted he does know where the time capsule for the current city hall built in 1978 was buried.

“If you want to get into it you’d better ask me what I know before I pass away,” Cantu quipped.

Janice Zacharias, that is part of the all-volunteer group that took on the East Union Cemetery to keep it maintained and recently obtained a state license to allow the selling of burial plots once again, was also a speaker.

“Our fondest hope is this scared ground will be preserved,” Zacharias said of the cemetery where the time capsule is being buried.

City Manager Tim Ogden delivered the opening remarks.

City of Manteca Senior Management Analyst Johanna Ferriera, who also worked at collecting the time capsule items, offered closing remarks.

“We all have history in Manteca,” noted Ferriera who was raised just a few blocks away from the cemetery.

She recalled when Hacienda and Walnut avenues did not meet and how in walks with her dad they would pass by an almond orchard that separated the two streets.


To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com