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A bomb squad was called in to open the Liberty Memorial’s centennial time capsule

A bomb squad was called in to open the Liberty Memorial’s centennial time capsule

A 100-year-old time capsule was broken open Wednesday from the cornerstone of a World War I memorial in Kansas City.

Before the unveiling of the capsule, which contained, among other things, a letter from President Calvin Coolidge, an explosives squad was called in to open the case because of fears that a poorly preserved nitrate film could cause a fire.

Artifacts include the 1917 Declaration of War, a photograph of President Woodrow Wilson and over a dozen others on display at the Liberty Memorial Museum. AP

The Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri, features a museum and a massive, 217-foot tower dedicated to the soldiers of World War I. Museum excavators had to drill through 18 inches of concrete to access the capsule embedded in the base of the tower.

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

The capsule also reportedly contained the 1917 Declaration of War, seeds, an engraving of a front page from the Kansas City Star newspaper and a letter from Allied General John Pershing.

The disturbing film showed the groundbreaking of the monument in 1921. Other items included the Constitution, a Bible and various photos, according to Fox News.

Recovered artifacts include a copper front page of the Kansas City Star, many photographs and a tube of seeds. AP

On this brass front page from 1924, a news article references the statistic that Kansas City produces 120,000 kilowatts of electricity each day. According to The Kansas City Star, the city now produces eight and a half times as much electricity.

“It just shows me how far we have come as a city and how different it is now than it was back then,” Jamal Okinoyi, a student who was present at the unveiling, told the Star.

The Liberty Memorial Museum announced that it will create its own 100th anniversary time capsule, which will be buried in 2026.

Warren suggested including things like sports memorabilia and entertainment artifacts.

A couple shares the view from the Liberty Memorial, where the time capsule has been hidden for the last 100 years. Annie Wermiel/NY Post

“Then it can be something else that is faith-based and important to Kansas City,” Warren added. “Something to do with the economy and progress and things like that.”

“So we’re really looking forward to getting ideas from the people of Kansas City to help us figure out what we should do.”

Khaelen Kwi, another student present, suggested to the Star: “We should use a computer and 100 years later they will have a better computer and see what we have back then.”

Artifacts from the capsule are on display at the Liberty Memorial.

With post wires