SEELEY H.S. CORNERSTONE REMOVED - 1932

SEELEY, CRUIKSHANK, WHITING, VAN ALLEN, HOWE

Posted By: Pat Ryan White (email)
Date: 7/24/2015 at 20:41:11

CONTENTS REMOVED FROM CORNERSTONE.

Pamphlets, Catalogs, Newspapers, Bible and Brick In Seeley Building.

The cornerstone in the Seeley Memorial High School building was opened this afternoon and the contents inspected.

From the copper box on the interior of the stone were removed Mt. Pleasant newspapers, histories of some local organizations, a resume of the life of George Seeley, donor of the building for a Y.M.C.A. center, Iowa Wesleyan catalog, Howe’s Academy catalog, many other pamphlets, a small Bible belonging to W.B. Seeley and the first house in Mt. Pleasant.

The Bible was turned over to Ben Seeley, but the remainder of the contents were taken by Supt. C.W. Cruikshank and will be carefully inspected and probably placed in the public library.

The brick will be on display in a local window during the Fall Festival.

A.M. Van Allen, president of the school board, supervised the removal of the contents of the cornerstone, which was placed in the building in 1905. A small copper box, some ten inches long and six inches across, contained the articles. Despite the fact that the box had been sealed and had to be opened with a chisel, the contents indicated that there was slight moisture in the container. J.L. Whiting, who is in charge of the razing of the school building, rolled the coverstone off the corner block and drove the chisel around the edge of the box.

Mayor Whiting, members of the city council, Supt. Cruikshank, the school board and a few others were present to watch the removal of the contents of the stone.

[Undated, unnamed newspaper clipping, probably ‘Mt. Pleasant News,’ summer of 1932]