Time Capsule Also Part Of BV 250th Celebration
A festive gathering atop Inspiration Hill at Glen Maury Park in Buena Vista is planned for the country’s semiquincentennial celebration on Saturday, July 4, beginning at 8 a.m.
A huge new American flag is to be raised that will be visible from much of Buena Vista. American Legion Post 126 will be overseeing the flag-raising ceremony that will include members of Southern Virginia University’s chorus leading everyone in singing patriotic songs.
A bicentennial time capsule that was buried outside the Municipal Building 50 years ago will be opened to reveal the contents. A new time capsule is to be buried in the vicinity of what is to be a flag garden adjacent to the double-decker pavilion.
Police Chief David Clements recently enlisted the city’s school children to offer suggestions for the contents of the new time capsule that will remain buried for the next 50 years, until the nation’s 300th, or tercentennial, anniversary in 2076.
A 12-foot by 18-foot flag is to be raised atop a wooden temporary flagpole that is to be replaced next year on July 4 by an aluminum 60-foot-tall flagpole. A fundraising campaign is being launched to raise $14,000 for the new flagpole. Sponsors are being sought to pay $200 for one of the 50 stars or $500 for one of the 13 stripes.
Ron Cash, a member of Buena Vista City Council who represents the city on Rockbridge County’s 250th anniversary planning committee, has been spearheading the planning for the upcoming celebration in Buena Vista. He has been providing regular updates at Council meetings on the planning for the celebration.
Cash said this week he is searching for a cast-iron manhole cover manufactured by the old Buena Vista foundry for the placement of the new time capsule contents.
Also on July 4 at Glen Maury Park, there will be live music in the evening by the Party Crasher Band at the multi-purpose pavilion behind the Paxton House. The Independence Day celebration will culminate with fireworks at nightfall.
