A time capsule to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt Dam was delivered to the dam today and placed in the tunnel area, where it will remain until it is opened for the structure’s 150th anniversary in 2061.
The new time capsule, filled with new items that best describe water and power and how they impact residents of the Salt River Valley, replaces the original version that was installed at the dam in 1961 and then opened in the spring of 2011.
During the run-up to the Roosevelt Dam Centennial in March 2011, Salt River Project invited employees and customers to contribute ideas via Facebook and e-mails for the contents of the new capsule, which was themed, “How water and power influence our lives in the desert we call home.”
Currently, background information, diagrams and pictures related to the time capsule are on display at the Tonto Basin Visitors Center. Eventually, there will be a permanent display at the Dam lookout point, said Ileen Snoddy, community outreach representative for SRP.
“We felt the time capsule would be a great way to preserve the history of this great area of Arizona,” said Snoddy. “The items in the time capsule capture the spirit of SRP and of water reclamation in Arizona. It’s exciting to imagine what the reaction will be at the 150th anniversary in 2061.”
Among the items included in the new time capsule:
* Copper shavings from the 1961 time capsule
* A digitized Roosevelt Dam Centennial video
* Centennial issue of Pulse, the SRP employee newsletter
* Paper SRP power and water bills
* List of SRP employees and Board/Council members in 2011 and an SRP employee badge
* SRP bylaws
* A cell phone, iPod, music CD, movie DVD, incandescent light bulb
* Arizona state quarter
* Aerial photo of metro Phoenix
* Arizona Diamondbacks baseball ticket from March 18, 2011, game
Before it was sealed in April, the Centennial time capsule and its new contents were on display during the spring and summer of 2011 at Phoenix-area museums, including the Arizona Science Center, Scottsdale Historical Society Little Red Schoolhouse, River of Time Museum and Superstition Mountain Historical Society.
Also on display on the centennial museum tour were items from the first Roosevelt Dam time capsule, which was embedded in the dam in 1961 as part of the Golden Jubilee celebration. Some of the items from the time capsule marking the first 50 years included:
* A telegram from President John F. Kennedy
* A roster of people present at the Golden Jubilee on March 18, 1961, and a copy of the official invitation to special guests and dignitaries
* Articles of Incorporation and bylaws of the Salt River Valley Water Users’ Association
* Bylaws of the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District
* A copy of the Kent Decree, which has done much to set the pattern of water rights
* Roster of SRP employees in 1961
* SRP’s 1961 Annual Report
* Special issue of the SRP CURRENT News, which launched the Golden Jubilee celebration
* April 1961 Arizona Highways magazine titled “Water and the Thirsty Land”
* Two proclamations by Phoenix Mayor Sam Mardian Jr. and Arizona Gov. Paul J. Fannin declaring March 18, 1961, as the Theodore Roosevelt Dam Golden Jubilee
Dedicated in March 1911, Theodore Roosevelt Dam is the cornerstone of a system of waterways managed by SRP that has served as an economic catalyst in creating the Phoenix metropolitan area. Hydroelectric power from the dam and the reliable water supply it provided helped grow the Valley’s rural areas into one of the more prosperous communities in the Southwest.
