Turning the clock back three decades

"BREMERTON - Thirty years ago, a class of North Kitsap High School students created a time capsule out of a sealed wooden box. The box was painted purple and gold and in it was placed some of the most precious history of the community: audio interviews with pioneers like Henry Brown and Fred Fredericksen; recorded interviews of older Native Americans; and reproductions of old photographs, going back to just about the turn of the century. At 11 a.m. today that capsule will be opened. Thirty years ago, Adrianne Kinzie, who lives in Poulsbo, still had the last name Lomas and was a sophomore in teacher Wayne Estes' North Kitsap History Class. Kinzie can't remember why she signed up for the class (although her love of photography and a chance to work in the darkroom might have done it), but she remembers she enjoyed it. It sounded like an interesting class to take, I guess, Kinzie said. And a busy one. The class worked to stock pile all kinds of historical information about Kitsap County. We gathered old photographs that were in the homes of some of the older residents, said Kinzie, who presently teaches at Christ the King Academy. I remember Old Man Fredericksen. We just called him 'old man.' We recorded him - I don't remember if it was reel-to-reel or cassette. Kinzie said, I'm going to be curious to find out if it's a technology we can play back. After the time capsule was completed, it was left with Kinzie's parents, who were active in the PTA, then left with her as she moved out of the house to attend Western Washington University before returning to North Kitsap. Estes said the kids did the work. They were a wonderful group of kids, and we got a lot of support from the community, he said. The stories we got from the old-timers, they were the last stories. They aren't around anymore. Fredericksen, he was cutting his own wood until he was 98. That generation is gone. Estes, along with NKHS's principal in 1971, Eugene Riehl, will be present at the time capsule's opening as will several of the people who were in the class. He said is looking forward to meeting some of his former students. I'm happy to go, Estes remarked. I'm going to look at those old guys and see what they look like. They've got to be 45 or older now. They were 16 or 18 when I saw them last. Everything placed in the time capsule was reproduced and left with the Poulsbo library. The Kitsap County Historical Society is located at 280 4th Street in Bremerton. The phone number is (360) 479-6226. "

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