Concordia marks 150th anniversary with Celebration Day activities

As the city of Concordia was celebrating its Centennial back in 1971, a time capsule was buried at the base of the statue in City Park.
Contained in the time capsule, which was to be opened 50 years later, was a number of items including packages from city leaders, letters from community members to relatives, bumper stickers, a cassette tape, a flyswatter and more.
Fast forward 50 years, and many of those items placed in that time capsule were distributed to the people to whom they were addressed as Concordia marked its Sesquicentennial with Celebration Day in the City Park on Saturday.
Celebration Day is one of the many activities that are taking place throughout the year as the residents of Concordia mark the 150th anniversary of the incorporation of the city that took place on August 14, 1871.
The day was filled with family-friendly activities that included a free meal for the public that included birthday cake and ice cream, a presentation by the members of the city commission, a free swim, a pickleball tournament, a cornhole tournament, a car show, square dancing and more.
Items that were removed from the time capsule buried in 1971 were on display prior to being distributed.
The original plan was to dig up the time capsule during celebration day.
While talking to people in other communities who had been involved in the unearthing of a time capsule the members of the Sesquicentennial committee were informed that the contents could be damaged or ruined by moisture.
The time capsule was dug up on June 10 and it contained four plastic trash bags full of items.
City manager Amy Lange said that the items in three of the trash bags were in pretty good shape but the fourth was water soaked.
The items in the capsule were taken to City Hall to dry out.
None of the envelopes that were in the time capsule that were addressed to people were opened.
The recipients of the items in the time capsule were able to pick up them up on Saturday night if other arrangements had not been made.
Those who had items addressed to them but were not able to pick them up can contact City Hall and have them mailed.
Items unclaimed after September 25 will be opened by the Sesquicentennial committee.
Carol (Doyen) Hockersmith and her brother Kent Doyen were in attendance at Celebration Day to pick up a letter placed in the time capsule in 1971 by their parents Lee and Peggy Doyen.
The package included a letter to Carol, Kent, and their sister Ann written by Peggy Doyen and a picture of Lee and Peggy in their Centennial costume.
A Letter from Mom
Lee and Peggy were both faculty members at Cloud County Community College and participated in the Centennial celebration activities.
Hockersmith was the valedictorian of the Concordia High School Class of 1971 and was asked to speak at a ceremony for the burying of the time capsule.
“I can’t remember what I said,” Hockersmith said.
Hockersmith did have note cards and just before the time capsule was sealed she tossed them in.
The note cards were not retrieved when the capsule was opened.
Also included in the manila envelope was a letter from Millie Doyen, who was Lee’s mother. It was hand written but was no longer legible.
Hockersmith said they were able to determine the letter was a record of the family history.

 The Concordia Centennial year, Summer 1971, was an involved summer for all our family. When the steering committee was formed, I became a member representing the Cloud County Community College. For two years the steering committee, which eventually became the board of directors, met—sometimes for a 7 A.M. breakfast at the Skyliner Steakhouse located on south 81 or at 5 P.M. usually at Western Light hospitality room.

This steering committee nominated chairmen of the working committees. Out of the nominations, Lee was solicited to be the spectacular chairman. This event was the main entertainment of the celebration—the pageant. As chairman, Lee was in charge of cast and its selection, of the stage and its construction, care of all incidentals that went with producing the show on the high school football field. (The pageant itself was a big picnic backstage with badminton, card games, lawn chairs, and blankets; some groups brought popcorn and some and drinks stronger than the Pepsi sold by the high school cheerleaders at the cast concession stand. Ed Hamilton, the director, constantly whispered commands, which came over the speakers, to the cast and crew.) Meanwhile Lee spent about two weeks beforehand from 7 A.M. to 12 P.M. building sets from scaffolding supplied by Woodrow Hood and lumber from the city yards and lumber yards, gathering props along with Dr. Robert Wiegand, and gathering tents for dressing rooms. Saturday night following the last costume number, for each performer, costumes were checked in. Sunday afternoon following the Saturday performance of Prairie Portrait, the football field was cleaned and being watered by 5 P.M.

During the summer of 1971 Ann was part-time employee at Phillips’ Dress Shop. (Remember the enlarged picture of you, Alice Overfield and Vi Gadsby?) Her centennial dresses were a red peasant dress and an apricot dress that also had been used when she played at Kathy Overstreet’s wedding. She also had a navy blue long skirt and a peasant blouse. Besides being in the Charleston number with Mike Farmer as a partner in the youth number of the pageant, she also helped with the medicine show which Sherrie Erhardt directed. Ann and Jim Balthazor, Dave Ensign, and Karla Cory provided pre-pageant music both Wednesday and Saturday nights. Ann also wore a black velvet traveling suit in the Lady’s Style Show.

During the summer of 1971 Carol along with Doran Chaput ran the concession stand for the city pool. For the pageant she was in the Charleston dance with Terry Gentry for a partner. (Both girls had been afraid they would miss out on doing the Charleston since we went on a family vacation to the Northwest—including the boat trip to Victoria, Canada, during July 1971.) Carol also marched in the parades in the band with her clarinet. (Lee was in the last parade, marching in his Gay ’90’s bathing suit and carrying—he said playing—his French horn.) Carol modeled her grandmother’s wedding dress and shoes in the Ladies’ Day style show at the Brown Grand. Carol’s centennial dresses were a purple voile and a jersey. Carol was also in the youth part of the centennial. For the ceremony at the burial of the time capsule, she was the youth speaker.

Kent was gone to Hastings’ Basketball Camp during the week and he was not in the pageant, but he was at the last performance sitting with his Grandma Block. He was trying to get a new Schipperke trained. The four-month old got run over and he got another in September.

I narrated the Brown Grand style show, helped give tours of the Brown Grand and was in the “bathing beauty” dance scene of the pageant with Lee as my muscle man partner.

Other members of the Doyen family participating were Mrs. O.G. (Millie) Doyen, who was chairman of the Pioneer Ladies’ Day events, Ross and Judy Doyen were in the “bathing beauty”-“muscle man” scene of the pageant, Judy was secretary of the board of directors and the executive committee of the centennial. Cindy and Angela Doyen were in the pageant old-fashioned school scene and in the fashion show at the Brown Grand where Cindy won a 1st place ribbon. Ray Doyen was a judge at the threshing bee.

[signed] Peggy Doyen September 1971. 

A Package for the School Administrator
Concordia USD 333 superintendent of schools Quentin Breese was presented a package that was placed in the time capsule from then Concordia High School principal Don Musick.
The package included a number of items including a letter from Musick, the 1971 graduation and baccalaureate programs from 1971, the evaluation report from the North Central Association and a 1970-71 school directory from Garfield Elementary School.
During the 1970-71 school year there were seven first grade students, 10 second graders, nine third graders and seven fourth graders.
Lorene Fraser was the principal and also taught first and second grade.
Edna Henry was the third and fourth grade teacher.
The librarian was Margaret Clark, who was the wife of then superintendent of schools Harold Clark.

Dear Future Administrator of Concordia High School
It would certainly be a thrill to be present when this package is opened but I will have been long gone. This is my tenth year as principal of the Concordia High School. We have gone from a high school of 400 students ten years ago to 646 students in the upper four grades as of today's enrollment. Our building is over forty years old so I hope the taxpayers have seen fit to build a new one for the students of your era.
I have enclosed one of the evaluation books completed in the self evaluation study last year and the evaluation team booklet. It should prove very interesting to read it and see how your school of today compares to ours in 1971. You will see that we were cramped for space and could have used more teachers. I certainly hope this problem doesn't exist for you now.
I would like to wish you good luck in your tenure at Concordia and hope that the schools are providing the type of education that will help your students meet their needs to become useful citizens in society. I certainly hope we didn't fail in our duties to the youth of 1971 but only time will tell. If there are any of the old timers around who went school during the late 1960s and early seventies say Hi from their old principal.
Sincerely

Don L. Musick

A Message from Grandma
Peggy Frint, who was entering her senior year of high school in 1971, picked up a package that was placed in the time capsule by her grandparents Harve and Margaret Culbertson, who owned and operated Culbertson Electric Co. in downtown Concordia with Richard Culbertson.
The package included a family genealogy letter written by Margaret Culbertson and a 1970 Culbertson Electric calendar.
New Capsule To Be Buried
As part of the Sesquicentennial Celebration, a new time capsule will be buried in the same location as the old one was. It is to be opened in 50 years.
The original plan was to bury the time capsule on Celebration Day.
The Sesquicentennial committee made the decision to put the contents of the 1971 time capsule on display to give community members some ideas of what to place in the new time capsule.
Those interested in placing an item in the time capsule can fill out a request form and take it to the Cloud County Tourism Office, 130 East Sixth St., or the Concordia Chamber of Commerce Office, 207 West Sixth St.
The deadline for submitting items is September 25.
The time capsule will be buried on October 1.