WARSAW — Community leaders on Friday put a cap on local celebrations marking America's 250th anniversary with an eye on celebrating its tricentennial in 50 years.

A large crowd gathered Friday on the east side of the Kosciusko County Courthouse for a the assembly of a time capsule containing various local items that will serve as present-day artifacts that will be sealed until until plans to open it in 2077.

Officials also celebrated the planting of a Liberty Tree on the east side of the courthouse lawn.

The capsule will remain inside the courthouse and will not be buried.

Friday's ceremony included numerous speakers and planning for the time capsule had the support of Maddox Lemler, a 15-year-old sophomore at Warsaw Community High school who has been working at the Kosciusko County Historical society as an intern.

The wooden antique box from the early 1900s box was acquired from a family in Whitley County on Facebook Marketplace by Mike Loher, ML Community Impact Alliance founder and Freedom Fest organizer. 

Among the speakers were County Commissioner Bob Conley, who read a letter that was included in the capsule. Warsaw City Council President Jack Whilhite, a former employee of Zimmer Biomet, read a letter from the orthopedic manufacturer who began business in Warsaw 99 years ago.

Zimmer Biomet’s contribution included a knee replacement implant etched with the words, “Made in Warsaw, Indiana.” 

County Council Member Joe Irwin, a farm, placed a small replica of a modern John Deere tractor inside the box.

Other items included recent copies of the Times-Union, letters from well wishers and various other items.

[caption id="attachment_133381" align="alignright" width="330"] A couple deckled out in patriotic garb, bow their heads during a prayer at the ceremony. News Now Warsaw photo by Dan Spalding.[/caption]

“These items tell the story of who we are, what we value, what we have accomplished, and what we hope for the generations who will one day open this capsule," said Ed Rock, who spoke at the event.

"Our hope is that when this time capsule is opened in 2076, as America celebrates her 300th anniversary, future generations will look back with gratitude and recognize that we did our part to preserve the freedoms and opportunities we inherited," Rock said.

The Tree, donated by Open Air Garden, is a Crimson King Maple and was planted ahead of time on the east side of the courthouse lawn.

The history of what became known as the Liberty tree was explained by Lisa Hendry, a volunteer with the Kosciusko County Historical Society.

Back in 1765 in Boston, she explained, a large elm tree became a gathering place for the colonists who were protesting the Stamp Act. Under its branches, ordinary citizens would gather to stand against unjust taxation and to defend the rights that would eventually become the foundation of our nation, Hendry said.

Soon, communities throughout the colonies established their own Liberty Trees as the places where the patriots would gather to discuss freedom, justice, and self-government, she said.

Although British soldiers cut down the original Liberty Tree in 1775, they could not stop the rooting of the spirit of our nation, which could not be destroyed. The idea of liberty had already taken root, she said.

"Today, more than 250 years later, we continue that tradition by dedicating this Liberty Tree in Kosciusko County. May it remind all of us as we walk by it that freedom is never guaranteed. It is earned, it is protected, it is preserved, and it's passed on from one generation to the next,” Hendry said.

The two ceremonies coincided a special edition of Third Friday, held a week earlier than normal to avoid a conflict with the annual county fair. The hoedown theme included line dancing and a sip and shop promotion by Main Street Warsaw and food.

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