WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Thursday, Betsy Overkamp-Smith, the Director of Public Relations and Engagement with the Williamsburg-James City County School District, walked around James Blair Middle School looking for what might be big treasure or a big bust.
“Someone said ‘oh, there`s time capsules,’” Overkamp-Smith said. ‘”There might be multiple time capsules.’”
But there's one major hiccup - school officials and alumni are not exactly sure where these capsules were hidden.
"One of them is potentially next to the flag pole. We`ve had a number of people who have mentioned the flag pole,” Overkamp-Smith said.
One of the other places that many alumni said the capsules might be are near the James Blair Middle School sign.
“What we do know is there is at least one time capsule on this property and we`re gonna do everything to find it,” Overkamp-Smith said.
The conversation about time capsules came up when the school district announced plans to demolish part of the school to construct a new middle school.
“This is a historical a building. It`s important to a lot of people who live in our community, still, and who have dispersed across the country that we preserve the history of James Blair,” Overkamp-Smith said.
Since asking for help in finding the capsules, the district has gotten a lot of support.
“The alumni of this building have been very helpful already and we just put the information out there,” Overkamp-Smith said.
Overkamp-Smith says they`re not sure what`s inside the time capsules.
Once found, the capsules will either be reburied, opened for the alumni or added to a display in the new school's lobby.
Anyone with information on where the capsules might be can email Alan Roberts, the Facilities Manager for WJCC schools, at alan.robertson@wjccschools.org or Overkamp-Smith at mari.overkamp-smith@wjccschools.org.
