Goshen Health to open 1953 time capsule

Hospital officials located a buried time capsule during construction of the new patient tower scheduled for completion in 2022. They plan to unveil the contents at a ceremony open to the public on February 24, 2020, at 11:00 a.m. at Goshen Hospital in the birch/walnut conference rooms.

Seven decades ago, Goshen Hospital officials carefully sealed photographs and documents into a container to commemorate construction of the original hospital. Few clues gave away the location of the container, which was found buried in the wall of the original hospital entrance. Only a Goshen News-Democrat newspaper clipping from November 4, 1953, documented this informal cornerstone laying ceremony. Retired Colleague Doug Roth shared the clipping with the hospital.

"We hope to get a glimpse into our predecessors' vision for health care in our community," said Randy Christophel, Goshen Health President and Chief Executive Officer. "This is an invaluable part of our history."

Items from the 1953 capsule will be on display during the ceremony. In addition, new time capsule items from present-day Colleagues will be available to view.

"We plan to reseal the 1953 contents with contributions from today into a new time capsule," Christophel said. The container will be placed in the new patient tower during construction.