Time capsules containing letters, photos, T-shirts, video recordings and other items commemorating Lafayette Parish's Bicentennial were dedicated Thursday.
The time capsules are expected to be opened in 50 years (2073) and 100 years (2123).
Lafayette Parish is wrapping up a yearlong celebration of the 200th anniversary of the signing of state legislation creating the parish, according to Dave Domingue, director of international trade and development with Lafayette Consolidated Government.
The idea for burying time capsules, Domingue said, came from Mayor-President Josh Guillory. Thursday's ceremony will be one of his last as mayor-president as he was defeated in November by Monique Blanco Boulet, who takes office next week.
Guillory said he plans to return to his private law practice.
The time capsules, he said, are being buried at a time when Lafayette's economy is prospering and Lafayette is a shining example for the state.
"What will the next 200 years look like," Guillory wondered. "What will future generations say about us?"
Both time capsules will contain letters from the mayors of Lafayette, Broussard, Carencro, Scott and Youngsville, along with leaders of quasi-governmental agencies.
Several ethnic organizations are represented with letters from their leaders, including, Atakapa-Ishak Tribe, Coco Tribe of Conneci Tinne, Creole Inc., Filipino American Friends of Acadiana and Asociación Cultural Latino-Acadiana.
Lafayette residents 50 and 100 years from now will be treated to photographs capturing what Lafayette looked like and celebrated in the current era. The photos include the revolving Evangeline Maid bread loaf billboard, demolition of Cajun Field football stadium, a group photo of local musicians, a gathering of Zydeco greats, a bowl of duck gumbo, boiled crawfish and musicians playing accordion and fiddle.
Various items commemorating events and the culture are to be included, such as a KRVS mug, duck call, Blue Moon Saloon iron-on patch, miniature "Key of Z" rubboard made for the occasion, T'fer Cajun triangle, Louisiana brown cotton balls and a miniature brown cotton rug.
Those who open the time capsules will find T-shirts from Festivals Acadiens et Creoles and Festival International de Louisiane.
The retired No. 42 University of Louisiana at Lafayette football jersey worn by the late Orlando Thomas who went on to play for the Minnesota Vikings, will be included in the time capsule to be opened in 2073. Thomas died in 2014 following a battle with ALS.
A computer hard drive containing most of the letters mentioned above along with audio and video files, photos and other documents will be enclosed in the time capsules.
They include a recording of the late Zydeco pioneer Boozoo Chavis performing live at Festivals Acadiens et Creoles, video interviews with cultural elders and historians, video and stories by The Acadiana Advocate about Lafayette's history, a Maison Freetown brochure and a digital copy of Creole Tapestry and Luminary Voices table book.
The capsules will be buried on the University Avenue side of Lafayette City-Parish Hall on Friday. Domingue said the holes will be covered in a layer of limestone before the plastic-wrapped sealed metal boxes are placed inside. More limestone will be added, he said, along with concrete to seal the top and a granite marker commemorating the event.