Time travelling at Sisters Fire Hall

Hidden away deep in a wall of Sisters new fire station is a portal to the past that will open 30 years down the road.

The portal will provide a vignette into what came before for those of the future, a chance to examine Sisters life in the ancient days of 2007. The time capsule, containing all that is familiar to us but could be quaint artifacts of a time gone by for those of Sisters three decades hence, was placed in the wall last Thursday, January 10.

The time capsule is the brainchild of Chief Taylor Robertson of the Sisters -Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District.

"They had done something like this in a fire station where I had worked several years ago, and it seemed like a good idea for us to incorporate it in the new station so that those firefighters who come after us will be able to look back to what it was like in 2007 when the new station was being built," said Chief Robertson.

After Robertson started the ball rolling for the time capsule, Liz McKittrick, an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) for the fire district, picked up the project and carried it to the finish.

"We formed a committee and decided that we wanted to have a snapshot of what it was like at the fire house in the context of Sisters, Deschutes County, Oregon, the United States and the world in 2007. The capsule will be sealed until May of 2037. We chose that date as it will be the 100th anniversary of the original fire station in Sisters," said McKittrick.

The time capsule is a hard plastic case that is immune to humidity and most outside influences. Each object in the case is individually sealed. The capsule itself will be sealed within a wall in the newest section of the fire station, with a plaque placed on the wall that states where it is located and the year and date it is to be opened. The case itself is marked with "Do Not Open Until 2037" in the event the capsule is found by accident during a remodel when the plaque is not visible.

A selection of magazines, as well as a copy of The Nugget and a telephone book are in the capsule. A photo album contains not only what is expected but also a few surprises. Real estate advertisements for properties that are located close-by the fire hall are also included.

"We didn't want this to be just like any time capsule, so we decided to add some unusual things to the container that might surprise the firefighters who open it," said McKittrick.

Some of those things are a cell phone and a hand-held shortwave radio. There is a CD that contains a wide selection of images from the area and of the construction of the new fire hall.

"We thought those might be interesting for the firefighters, as we don't know if cell phones and walkie-talkies will even exist as we know them 30 years from now. I hope that they will be able to use the CD. It might be too old of a technology by the time the capsule is opened," said McKittrick.

Also included in the time capsule is a personal letter from Chief Robertson that provides an introduction to the time capsule and some of the history of the station up to January 2008. He also states in this letter some of his hopes for the future.

Perhaps the most salient comment in the letter is as follows: "I have not seen in my career a better place to work than our department. It is not because of me. It is because of the quality individuals who work and volunteer here every day. It is because of the sense of family and the kindness which surrounds this place. It is because of the giving and unselfishness that this entire community demonstrates every day. I only hope that you have the same environment in 2037."