Work site discoveries make for an ‘interesting’ day

New Prague Area Schools had two discoveries at two separate work sites on Tuesday, June 20. Around 3:30 p.m. crews from BCM Excavators found a time capsule in the cornerstone of the demolished 1923 school building. Earlier in the day workers from Ebert Construction dug up three headstones at the area where new tennis courts are being built.

“It was probably the most interesting day I’ve had since I’ve been here,” said District Operations Director Craig Most, who dealt with all the unearthed objects.

Time Capsule

Most, who’s lived in New Prague most of his life, looked at the cornerstone for a time capsule a few days before the tear down of the former high school. He and one of the foremen were searching as older residents swore there was a time capsule. “We tried to dislodge the cornerstone to see if it was there,” he said. Their search came up with nothing, but they still wanted to salvage the cornerstone of the building. Before the Monday, June 19, demolition of the building he told crews from BCM Excavators to not disturb the cornerstone or wreck it.

On June 20, when crews were working to remove the cornerstone, they found the time capsule. “When we did find it, we were pretty surprised,” said Most. He and workers went over to the site and looked inside the cornerstone. He said he could barely see the top of the rectangular copper box. “We pried it out,” said Most.

The box was soldered shut. Using a side grinder they ground the solder off and found a notice inside that the box had been made by Sachs and Rynda Hardware, which had been located in New Prague.

The contents of the time capsule included black and white photos, area newspapers and several documents about the 1923 school building. One document reflected New Prague’s roots, as it was printed in both English and Czech. Among the newspapers were issues of The New Prague Times, detailing in its headlines the history of the building, from a vote for the structure to how it will soon be built. One document was a class roster. Most explained one person on the list is family. His wife’s great uncle, Edward Bartyzal, was a junior or senior at the time.

Headstones

Just down the street from the former school, which faced First Avenue NW, crews from Ebert Construction were working. They were digging on a site on the west side of the street, which will be the home for new tennis courts. Around 9 a.m. crews found the headstones.

“The ‘dozer kicked up the first one,” said Dan Berglund of Ebert Construction. Some more digging resulted in two more headstones. “They were only three to five feet apart,” he said, adding there were some pillars surrounding them. “It was a very interesting find, I’d say,” said Berglund. “I’m not expecting to find headstones on a job site.”

“As soon as I found the headstones I shut down everything,” said Berglund. He then called in Most and others from the school district. They suddenly had a bit of a historical mystery. Were they digging in a personal cemetery?

“I thought of the community, that was the first thing I thought,” said Most. He added he didn’t want to be disturbing the remains of someone’s grandmother or great grandmother.

Most called...

To see more on this story pick up the June 29, 2017 print edition of The New Prague Times.