Capturing a piece of Biddeford history, one item at a time: Cultural group plans time capsule
Picture this: It’s 2076, and downtown Biddeford looks a lot different than it did in 2026. People aren’t walking around with smartphones — they’re using projections to talk with friends and family.
Forget strawberry matcha and iced lattes with cold foam. Teenagers are sipping on hyper-personalized wellness drinks designed to deliver the exact nutrients, vitamins and minerals their bodies need.
And as a 77 year-old woman (who looks and acts like she’s 40, thanks to synthetic age reversal) walks past City Hall, its historic bricks won’t be evident at first. Instead, the building will be covered in hydroponic greenery to help accommodate an ever-changing coastal climate.
Who knows if that’s really what Biddeford will look like in 50 years — it probably isn’t — but whatever does happen, a new time capsule project organized by the Biddeford Cultural and Heritage Center will allow residents of the future to look back on what life was like in 2026.
“I graduated in 1976, and things have changed so much even since then,” center President Diane Cyr said. “We didn’t have cellphones, we didn’t have computers. Things can change so much in 50 years.”
The project is a way to capture what Biddeford is like right now, Cyr said: the people who call the city home, its leadership and the events that shaped the community.
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REMEMBERING AND LOOKING AHEAD
The idea was conceived long before 2026, when the cultural center was beginning to think of how to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States. By the time the capsule is reopened, the United States will be 300 years old, and Biddeford will be over 400 years old (it was first settled in the early 1600s).
“We just want people to understand where they come from and what it was like 50 years ago,” Cyr said.
University of New England student Damien Jones is volunteering along with the cultural center to help make the time capsule a reality.
Jones has been working with the center as part of a class called Management of Nonprofit Organizations. During that time, he has been assisting Cyr with various tasks and conducted street interviews to learn what it’s like to live in Biddeford.
The time capsule project caught his eye, he said, because he believes preserving history can help future generations learn from or even emulate the past to further advance humanity.
“Learning how Biddeford operated and what it looked like 50 years ago can help residents either reconnect with the good parts of Biddeford’s roots or learn from our mistakes, so they don’t repeat them,” Jones said.
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WHAT’S GOING INSIDE
What goes in the capsule is important, Cyr said — the items that are chosen will represent the Biddeford of today. Some have already been chosen: an essay from a Biddeford High School student, a proclamation from Mayor Liam LaFountain, a walking map of the current downtown and menus from popular restaurants like Pizza by Alex.
Jones also hopes to include an art project created by a resident and something that represents the city’s minority populations, “to show how diverse the community is,” he said.
The capsule might also include objects related to the killing of Biddeford resident Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, who was fatally shot by a federal immigration officer in July.
Rather than being buried in the ground like traditional time capsules, this one will be displayed in a case at City Hall, serving as a reminder of the future that is being created every day.
Submissions are also still open to the public, Cyr said, and ideas can be sent to [email protected].
A closing ceremony to celebrate the capsule’s sealing will be held at The Lincoln Hotel on Jan. 7.
“(The time capsule) will be a valuable learning tool for the future,” Cyr said. “It gives residents a little bit of their history.”
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Tagged: community, community event, history
Sydney is a community reporter for Biddeford, Saco, Old Orchard Beach, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Arundel and previously reporter for the Courier and Post. Sydney grew up in Kennebunk and is a graduate. More by Sydney Richelieu
