A little more than 30 years ago, Brenda Gantt was teaching accelerated science classes at East Three Notch Elementary School.

Gantt said Friday that at the time, students came to her classroom once a week.

“If you will notice above the doors or the cornerstone, it says 1914,” she said. “During our accelerated science class studies, my students and I decided we should have a time capsule to be opened on the 100th birthday of the school.”

Another capsule was placed there in 1914.

Gantt said she and her students decided to make it a school-wide project.

“We got the whole school involved,” she said. “All the children that I taught, they made little things to pass out to the kids in other classes.”

Gantt said each class got to pick what they wanted to go into the time capsule.

“The accelerated class really thought it out,” she said. “Our principal (Patricia Wenum) said that would be great for us to do that, and we went right ahead.”

As part of the school’s 70th anniversary celebration, a big assembly was held outside of the school.

“All the children came out there,” she said. “There was a lot of picture taking. If memory serves me correctly, I think the maintenance people of the city schools dug a hole and buried it.”

Gantt said they used a huge PVC pipe. According to Star-News archives, the capsule was 4-feet high.

“They buried it straight up,” she said. “Then each individual class got to throw their things into the capsule.”

Gantt said each individual teacher chose students to do the honors.

“All the classes filed by,” she said. “Some classes wrote letters. Others put things that were popular in. For example, then psychedelic colors were popular, such as real bright orange and lime green. A lot of that was thrown in.”

Gantt said toward the end, she said a male student couldn’t take the excitement any longer and tossed a pencil into the capsule.

“I don’t remember who it was,” she said.

The capsule was sealed up and buried on the lawn of East Three Notch Elementary School, which is now Andalusia City Hall.

Gantt said she plans to attend this morning’s ceremony.

“It will be really exciting to know what everyone put in there,” she said. “I know it’s going to take some major pulling and digging to get it out of the ground.”

Gantt said it was a lot of fun getting the project organized 30 years ago.

According to the Star-News, some of the items included are:

• pictures and names of students and teachers;

• An Andalusia Star-News;

• Parachute pants and jelly shoes;

• Signatures of students;

• A television viewing guide; and

• A lunch menu.

Today’s ceremony is being organized by Chase Cotton, who was a kindergartener in 1985.

Cotton stumbled upon the marker at city hall on his way to a meeting at city hall.

The ceremony will be held at 10 this morning.