John Shearer: Examining Baylor’s Century-Old Time Capsule

  • Sunday, May 8, 2016
  • John Shearer

People who find themselves at Baylor School’s hilltop Lupton Circle usually are gazing at the big picture – whether the scenic Tennessee River and gorge, Williams Island, or the commanding collegiate Gothic-style buildings.

But in recent days, the focus there was on something quite small – a copper time capsule box no more than about eight inches long, five inches wide and about three or four inches tall.

As part of a two-year-long “100 Years on the Hill” celebration observing the centennial of the school’s 1915 move to its current campus just a few miles northwest of downtown Chattanooga, a special program was held Thursday night.

The event included the formal opening of the time capsule by current headmaster and 1975 alumnus Scott Wilson at Lupton Circle, followed by a dinner and remarks by former headmaster and 1951 alumnus Herb Barks Jr. at the Guerry Hall dining complex.

I did not get to attend the special program, but while the school had the time capsule out for a day or so re-documenting the items in it, I had a rare chance to examine it with the help of librarian Julie King and director of external affairs Barbara Kennedy.

Although small in size, the copper capsule box is certainly big in historical significance, as it contains a number of important and interesting items. They include vintage black and white photographs of school administrators and their families, as well as pictures of some of the early financial backers. Also, typed sheets listing all the early benefactors – or “subscribers” – are included, as are some old coins and Chattanooga newspaper articles.

The largest item was a small Oxford Bible.

And there was even one small surprise – a note on a Baylor envelope by the late former teacher Jim Hitt saying that he and then-headmaster Charles Hawkins had opened the time capsule in 1966 to examine the coins and items. The coins were put back in the box in early 1967 before it was closed again, he wrote.

The reason for opening the time capsule was likely that Mr. Hitt was involved in his research at that time for the Baylor history book, “It Never Rains After Three O’clock.”

That was the first Baylor history book of any length. A new pictorial history book, “Baylor School: One Hundred Years on the Hill,” with photos by Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Robin Hood and historical text by James A. Crutchfield, was distributed Thursday as part of the celebration. It was the third detailed Baylor history book, with the late John Longwith’s 1994 book, “Castle on a Cliff,” the second one.

The cornerstone where the time capsule has been kept is located at the bottom corner of the A-framed building in Lupton Circle. Although it looks like it could have been an early chapel, the structure was originally the dining room before becoming a library and later the Richmond Lounge.

The actual contents in the time capsule are not really a surprise to those of today. The reason is that not only does Mr. Hitt mention them in his book, but a Chattanooga Times article was written discussing the items on the day of the cornerstone laying ceremony on April 5, 1915. That article was one of several newspaper clippings included in the time capsule.

However, as Mr. Hitt pointed out in his history, two items mentioned in the paper but not actually put in the copper box were copies of the school song and the student publication, “Red and Gray.”

Among the numerous people who took part in the 1915 ceremony, according to the article, was Adolph Ochs, the publisher of the New York Times and the Chattanooga Times. He was unable to attend in person, but a telegram he wrote expressing his regrets and well wishes was read. He was also listed as a subscriber to the school on the typed paper included in the capsule.

During the event, those attending could take the trolley for five cents each way from the James Building downtown, the article said.

The newspaper story also said that the coins were rare United States currency donated by John B. Nicklin, who had served as mayor of Chattanooga from 1887-89. His son, Samuel Strang Nicklin, later owned the Chattanooga Lookouts for a period and had been a major league ball player and a West Point baseball coach of future Tennessee football coach Robert Neyland and Gen. Omar Nelson Bradley of World War II fame.

The elder Mr. Nicklin’s exact connection to Baylor was not clear, although he was likely a friend of school officials or benefactors in those days when Chattanooga was a smaller city.

Among the coins he donated were one from 1875, a two-cent piece, a penny that on the front side looks similar to those of today, a dime that predated the Mercury dime, a three-cent piece and a buffalo nickel, among others.

Those whose photographs are in the box and whose names are written on the back are founder and head John Roy Baylor and his wife, Julia, who actually put the copper box in the cornerstone. Other photographs are of their daughter, Eloise, who could not attend, and key Baylor administrator Alex Guerry Sr., who would later go on to head the University of Chattanooga and the University of the South.

Benefactors who also had their names on the back of pictures in the time capsule were Coca-Cola bottler and multi-faceted businessman J.T. Lupton, and young and rising businessmen Jo Conn Guild Jr. and Scott Probasco Sr. Mr. Guild was involved with the Chattanooga and Tennessee River Power Company, while Mr. Probasco had just helped found a trust company that for years would be known as American National Bank.

One bent photograph in the box that apparently did not have a name written on the back of it seemed a little bit of a mystery initially. But it was quickly solved with a look at Mr. Hitt’s book, not to mention a glance at the press release Baylor sent out last week.

It was a photo of James F. Johnston, an early Coca-Cola bottler and the father of Summerfield K. Johnston Sr.

With Mr. Johnston’s and Mr. Lupton’s pictures in there, maybe they should have also included a bottle of Coca-Cola. After all, money contributed by the bottling families has no doubt helped the school over the years.

I also thought it was neat that these pictures had been handled and touched by these distinguished Chattanoogans of the early 20th century. Maybe Mr. Lupton’s picture was even previously kept in his now-razed large Riverview mansion, Lyndhurst, for a period.

One other mystery I found in the box deals with some faded writing I saw on the inside of the top part of the copper box. It says something like Chattanooga (indistinguishable but looks a little like Plow and Fisk) Roofing Co.

I checked a Chattanooga city directory from that time period at the library and deduced that the company could only be the Chattanooga Blow Pipe and Roofing Company. In the mid-1910s, it was located at 706 Cherry St. and it specialized in metal blowpipes and other metal for ventilation systems, as well as metal roofing materials and “general sheet iron work.”

The latter must have been where the copper box fell. The business was headed at the time by M.V. Burchall and Charles A. Ryerson, and the connection to Baylor or why the firm was hired to do the work seems lost to time.

A check in some old city directories shows that the firm was around until about the early 1960s. Another company with a similar name later began appearing in the mid-1960s, but further research would be required to determine if they are related. The other company is also no longer in business, unless it was bought, merged with another company or its name was changed.

About the time the original firm went out of business was when Mr. Hitt – a longtime former English teacher who was known for his storytelling ability – opened the copper box.

By then, the old time capsule had sat silently and hidden for decades while plenty of history had already taken place at Baylor. That included the arrival of the Barks family to eventually head the school, the institution of the military curriculum in time for two world wars, and the polio outbreak that struck students in Lupton Hall a few feet away in 1948.

And after the box was put back in the cornerstone in early 1967, Baylor continued to evolve around it. In 1971, it dropped the military curriculum, while in 1985 it began admitting girls for the first time at the current campus.

One can only imagine what the school will be like in 50 or 100 years the next time it is taken out for inspection or a celebration and the capsule faces once again some rare sunshine on its now-dulled exterior.

School officials no doubt hope the outlook for Baylor will still be as sunny as it has been for most of the last 100 years on the hill.

Jcshearer2@comcast.net

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