Waterlogged capsule tells of time past

Angelique Flores

FOUNTAIN VALLEY -- A water-filled time capsule was opened with a stream

of disappointment at Fountain Valley Elementary School on Saturday.

When the school closed a decade ago, items were stored in a fireproof

safe, sealed with a silicone seal, doubly enclosed in a plastic bag and

covered with a plastic tray and 3 inches of concrete.

Firefighters pried open the door only to find that water had already made

its way inside and damaged everything.

“There was a collective sigh of ‘oh’ and a collective sense of closure,”

said Sandra Crandall, who taught kindergarten at the school for 20 years.

About 125 former students, staff and parents attended the event, anxious

to find out what was in the capsule. The remains include a discolored

T-shirt with the school’s motto “The sky’s the limit,” a stained

“Fountain Valley Trojans” pennant, a soggy book of “Charlotte’s Web,” a

wad of students’ reports, a soaked computer disk, faded pictures and

school Olympic ribbons, a Student Safety Committee button and a wet

newspaper article about the school’s closing.

“Everything is all stained and ugly,” said Larry Crandall, Sandra’s

husband and the Fountain Valley councilman who organized the event.

Sandra Crandall washed the items but said she had no luck getting the

mold and goo off of the items.

“We can’t put anything on display in the library. It would stink up the

joint,” Larry Crandall said.

Despite the disappointment, those in attendance still enjoyed reminiscing

with old friends. Former students, now between 15 and 21 years old,

returned for the opening -- coming from as far away as Los Angeles,

Fallbrook and San Clemente.

“I hadn’t been on campus since third grade,” Jenny Black said. Now 19,

Black was a third-grader when the school closed. “The ceremony was held

where we used to eat lunch, and I could still picture the picnic tables

there.”

Teachers and parents enjoyed seeing how the students have grown.

“There was this little curly headed fellow I taught in kindergarten, and

now he towers over me,” Sandra Crandall said.

Plans are in the works for the school to be turned into a senior center

and senior housing.

“Now the site will serve not the young but the old,” she said.