There was the time a horse bit another horse in the hind quarters, and the time a hayride went haywire when the wagon broke.
There were Christmas carols to sing, ornaments to be made and meetings to attend.
And badges — so many badges.
Those memories and many more came flooding in Sunday afternoon as some former Girl Scouts reunited to open a time capsule at the Midlothian Historical Museum.
In 1994, Girl Scout Troop 522, based at St. Christopher Parish in Midlothian, put together a small time capsule with the idea of opening it up 25 years later in 2019. But everyone forgot about it.
Marsha Giggleman became the curator of the historical museum two years ago and discovered the capsule buried in the museum’s collection. She set it aside once again until she could devote the attention the time capsule deserved.
“I found this in the storage unit,” Giggleman said. “And I thought we would wait a couple of years because the museum was kind of a mess and needed tender loving care.”
A time capsule that was supposed to be opened up in 2019 but forgotten in the intervening years was opened Sunday at the Midlothian Historical Museum. (Jeff Vorva/Daily Southtown)
Events in the intervening decade and a half after the Scouts assembled their message to the future obscured the roughly football-sized capsule. The troop associated with St. Christopher disbanded and at some point the parish turned it over to the Midlothian Public Library, which once was housed in the building at 14609 Springfield Ave. that’s now the historical museum.
“Apparently, the library left it because I found it,” Giggleman said.
So, she waited until the 30th anniversary to have it opened up to see what kind of treasures were inside.
About 50 people showed up Sunday to see, including Midlothian Mayor Gary L’Heureux and a group of current Girl Scouts who are putting their own time capsule together.
Two of the 20 Scouts from the former Troop 522 who contributed to the capsule 30 years ago were on hand, joined by one of their leaders, Ginny Prim.
Former Scout Catherine Cooney had the honor of using scissors to break into the capsule she helped create all those years ago.
Inside, there was a book titled “Girl Scout Badges and Signs” plus notes from meetings along with the items that brought back the most memories: personal messages and photos from each of the scouts.
“I was in Scouts for seven years, my favorite badge was Horse Lover and my most memorable event in Girl Scouts was when we went to White Pines Dude Ranch,” Cooney read from her 30-year-old note. “We watched the cows eat and the pigs, too.”
She also chronicled the hayride mishap, but overall said she wanted to go back to the ranch in Oregon, Illinois.
“It was such an awesome trip – I still think about it,” she said.
Memories also came back about trips to Camp Palos in Lemont.
“I’ve thought about going to Camp Palos, which felt like we were traveling away forever,” Cooney said. “It was so far away. But when you are older, you realize it’s not that far.”
Cooney, 41, attended Bremen High School in Midlothian and Saint Xavier University in Chicago and now works for the government.
Former Troop 522 Girl Scout Amanda Juarez, left, of Tinley Park, and her Scout leader Ginny Prim hold items they packed into a time capsule 30 years ago after the capsule was opened Sunday at the Midlothian Historical Museum. (Jeff Vorva/Daily Southtown)
Amanda Juarez, then known as Amanda Rosen, read her entry and received laughs from all around the room when she recited her favorite memory.
“My best friend, Liz (Prim, Ginny’s daughter), went horseback riding and her horse got bit on the butt,” she read. “Then she had to ride with our leader. She would never go horseback riding again.”
Juarez, 42, graduated from Bremen and Illinois State University and has worked for an advertising firm in Chicago for the past 18 years. She is living in Tinley Park with her family.
Cooney still lives in Midlothian and enjoyed the trip down memory lane.
“I remember that we did this project for the future Girl Scouts, so that they could see what we were doing at the time,” she said. “It was interesting to see in the minutes that I was in charge of getting photos from my uncle.
“I don’t know what uncle they were referencing.”
Cooney signed her name on the top of the capsule 30 years ago and when she was asked about it, she laughed and said, “I guess that was my personality back then.”
L’Heureux said he was glad to spend a part of his Sunday witnessing the opening of the capsule.
“It’s very, very cool to be here and experience it,” he said. “It’s great to see all the people who came to see it. And I’m overwhelmed by what Marsha Giggleman has done with this historical museum and we’re glad we were able to host it here.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
