The contents of a centuries-old time capsule are revealed in Kansas City

Time capsules are fickle, and the opening of a capsule buried a century ago in one of the country’s premier World War I memorials was no exception.

The first challenge was to get to the time capsule, buried in a tower that rises 217 feet (66 meters) into the Kansas City skyline and is topped by a giant flame.

Crews had to drill through 18 inches (45 centimeters) of concrete and limestone, Christopher Warren, the chief curator of the National World War I Museum and Memorial, said during an unveiling Wednesday.

“It wasn’t easy. There was no door to open and pull out the time capsule,” he said.

Then there was another problem: The time capsule contained a 1920s film that contained nitrates. As it deteriorates over time, it can be highly flammable. Therefore, the police bomb squad was on site when the time capsule was first opened.

“Nothing caught fire, which was of great benefit for preservation. Maybe not as interesting as it would have been if things had exploded,” Warren said.

He presented the content, which had been carefully checked in advance, to an audience full of school children. One of the highlights was a letter from President Calvin Coolidge praising the spirit of the community. The Egyptian Renaissance-style monument was erected in a burst of postwar patriotism after raising $2.5 million in less than two weeks in 1919, an amount equivalent to about $45 million today.

The achievement was so remarkable that Allied commanders from Belgium, Britain, Italy, France and the United States gathered in 1921 to dedicate the site where the time capsule was buried three years later. The memorial is located across from the Kansas City train station, where more than half of U.S. troops passed through before being shipped overseas. Today there is a museum underneath.

Officials had a few surprises in store for the public unveiling, including the first reading of a cursive message purportedly from Gen. John J. Pershing, the commander of American forces in World War I.

But things didn’t go quite as planned. The note explained that members of the time capsule committee had contacted Pershing but had received no response. They contented themselves with recording a few remarks that Pershing had made during the 1921 dedication ceremonies.

“Ladies and gentlemen, do you know what that is? “This is a 100-year-old out of office reply,” Warren said. “General Pershing is on vacation but will respond to your email when he returns to the office. That’s okay. He’s still an American hero.”

Museum leaders immediately began making plans to create another time capsule.

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