Time capsule unlocks memories of a bygone era

OAKRIDGE, Ore. - Gary Carl hoisted a time capsule out of the front yard of the Oakridge Hostel on Friday and unlocked a piece of Oregon history.

Inside, Carl - one of the owners of the Oakridge Hostel - found old letters, documents, rosters, pictures and music books from members of the Oregon Masonic Lodge dating back to the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. | Photo Gallery: See what was inside the Oakridge time capsule

The Masonic Lodge is a fraternal organization that used to have a building right where the hostel is now. | Do you have a picture of the old Oakridge Masonic Lodge? Share it with KVAL News

Dale and Mary K. Helikson joined the Masons back in the 1940s. Mary K. was in the women's branch, called The Order of the Eastern Star.

"I think it's wonderful!" said Dale about the discovery. He said he never knew about any time capsule, but it's clear the idea was well thought out. The envelopes are addressed to "time capsule."

The oldest item inside was a notebook from June 1946 filled with hand written minutes from Masonic meetings.

Dale said he can understand why group members felt these were the chosen items for capsule. "It's just to show the history of the lodge," he said.

For Dale and Mary K., who have been married 67 years, the dug-up treasure digs up nostalgic memories of what they call a "vibrant" Oakridge. They remember a community on the rise after World War II, that was filled with young people and jobs at the area mills.

"And they were making their lives here they had young children," said Mary K. "The school was full of kids."

"You had a tough time getting a house because everyone was coming here to work," said Dale.

Those days have come and gone. The mills shut down in the early 1990s, and many of the Helikson's friends and past Masonic members from Oakridge have died.

The pair say even though the Oakridge lodge is buried in the past, they're glad the memory dug its way to the present.

"It is a piece of history out of Oakridge," said Dale, "and I'm happy to have been a part of it."