Time capsule unearthed in Blackfoot

BLACKFOOT, Idaho (KIFI) - On Thursday, students at Independence High School kept digging and digging and digging to find a time capsule buried on their school grounds back in 1998.

"At first, I thought that the time capsule was going to be closer to the top of the ground," said Independence student Nick Ulrich. "I didn't think we were going to be digging for 30 minutes, but as soon as we got there, we found it."

Contents inside the time capsule included a newspaper, a VHS tape, and many other documents and posters that helped signify the times.

It was all a blast from the past for former student Talie Hokanson. She helped put together the time capsule over twenty years ago.

"Things are a lot different now than they were back then," Hokanson said. "Back in the day when I was in high school, you used to have a bag phone in your car if you needed to make phone calls or for emergencies. Now, we've got the real fancy cell phones and stuff like that that we didn't have back then."

While visiting her alma mater, Hokanson remarked that Independence has a profound impact on her life.

"It did change my life, because the teachers have a lot of compassion for the students, and it really helps you build your self-confidence, and there's no limit to where you can go," Hokanson said.

Assistant Principal Daniel Grimes has also been at Independence since the time capsule has been underground, and has seen the school have a similar impact on other students like it did for Hokanson.

"For a lot of the kids, I think they develop that feeling of home being here at this school, and a feeling of family," Grimes said. "Even 23 years later, they still have that feeling."

The school is planning on doing another time capsule before the school year ends. They are planning to highlight the current era, while also paying homage to Independence High School.

"It will be something that kind of reflects the students that are here now," Grimes said. "I think you saw a lot of personal stuff in there, a lot of people's posters, pictures of themselves at prom. I think that that's what time capsules at schools should reflect is the students that are there at the time that they do it."