RUTLAND, Mass. - On Saturday, dozens of people gathered outside the Rutland Public Library to unearth a time capsule buried during the town's 250th-anniversary celebration in 1972. As fate would have it, there's still a lot of digging left to do.
The time capsule was buried by a group of Rutlandites called “The Brothers of the Brush,” a name they adopted after refusing to shave their beards for the town's 250th celebration.
Danny Suchocki, a Rutland resident who was around back then, said they were quite the crew.
"You couldn't shave, and if you walked around to any events there was a portable jail," Suchocki said. "If you didn't have a permit to shave, they'd throw you in jail and drag you around the center of town through the events."
The time capsule's burial spot was marked by a tombstone reading “Here lies O'Razor, may he rust in peace.”
As an excavation crew began to dig, anticipation built among the crowd. Each person who was around in 1972 had a different guess of what was actually buried.
"How they buried it, I don't remember too much about that," said Eric Helle. "Time capsule, I'm not too sure. But I know something was in here."
"Knowing these guys, they might have put something here with a note that says the real thing is someplace else," Suchocki said.
Once the hole was several feet deep, bystanders began to spot some artifacts from 1972: soda cans, beer bottles, plastic flowers and a pen. Eventually, the excavator picked up a large concrete block, and some people theorized that the time capsule could be hidden inside.
Luckily, someone brought a jackhammer to the site and began to crack the block open. Unfortunately, there was nothing but concrete inside.
Shortly after, it was time to wave the white flag.
"If one of the older people in town come up with a revelation, we may come and dig around a little bit and see what we find," Darren Ross told the crowd.
Ken Lowe, once a member of “The Brothers of the Brush,” was puzzled.
"We had it, it was here, to my knowledge it went in that hole," he said.
Organizers are hoping to continue the search despite Saturday's disappointment.
"A member of the Rutland Historical Commission said he will reach out to the Massachusetts Historical Commission to use their ground-penetrating radar," said Jeff Stillings, who serves on Rutland's 300th Anniversary Committee.
Saturday's dig launched a busy few weeks for the Town of Rutland as it celebrates 300 years. Even though spectators came up empty-handed, they were grateful to get together with familiar faces.
"Even though we didn't find the time capsule, this right here, all these people who were involved in the 250th, are time capsules in themselves," said Corrine Puliafico.
For more information on Rutland's 300th anniversary, click here.