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Keith McCord Reporting The University of Utah is relieved tonight-- they've found the missing time capsule!
Two weeks ago the school was frantically trying to find it, so it could be opened during a 50th anniversary celebration in January.
They didn't expect it to be quite so complicated, but finding the time capsule placed 50 years ago took some high-tech sonar equipment and big power drill to finally expose it.
When the Olpin Union building was completed in January 1957, University of Utah President Ray Olpin helped seal the time capsule in a rock fireplace wall. But there are several fireplaces both in and outside the building, and no one marked where the time capsule was, so when the school started planning the 50th anniversary celebration, no one knew exactly where to look for it.
After seeing our report about the U's dilemma two weeks ago, personnel from at Met-Chem Testing of Salt Lake volunteered their time and sonar scanning equipment to find the time capsule.
The sensors read the density of the rock in order to determine if there was a cavity or space behind the wall. The sensor helped to identify the time capsule's location in a fireplace outside the student plaza. To confirm, they drilled a small hole in the mortar in order to verify that they were drilling in the right place before causing any damage to the masonry.
After everyone had a look, the location of the copper time capsule was confirmed. Next week, the University will bring in a stone mason who will carefully remove the rock and retrieve the box.
According to Whit Hollis, Director of the A. Ray Olpin Union Building at the U of U, the University will "display the box until January 17th, at which time we'll have the formal opening and see what's really in there."
For the planners of the 50th anniversary celebration, this discovery brings a great sigh of relief!
As a gesture of thanks, the folks at the U have invited the employees of the sonar company to attend the January celebration, so they can see what's in the box, when it's finally opened.
