Graham Jaehnig/Daily Mining Gazette Calumet DPW workers uncovered a 50-year-old time capsule Friday in the vacant lot next to the Calumet Theatre, which is owned by the village.

CALUMET – As the village of Calumet continues to celebrate its 150th anniversary as an incorporated village, on Friday employees of the village Public Worksd Department uncovered a time capsule buried 50 years ago, when the village celebrated its centennial in 1975.

During the 1975 celebration, Village President Frank Beatty received letters of congratulations on behalf of the residents from Governor William Miliken and President Gerald R. Ford.

The centennial celebration was a week-long festival of events that included parades, a queen coronation, dances, a heritage day followed by an Ethnic Day. There were tours of historic homes and old mine sites, and burying a time capsule in the Town Hall lot. The seven-day celebration concluded on Sunday, August 9 with a grand parade ending with fireworks at Legion Field.

There are no records of the time capsule or its contents, according to Village Manager Megan Haselden. But according to the Calumet Village, Michigan, 1875, 1975 Souvenir Centennial Book, on Wednesday, August 6, 1975, the capsule was buried in the “Town Hall lot,” adjacent to the Calumet Theatre. The burial of the capsule was done among ceremonies, bands and speeches.

The CLK Chamber of Commerce was in charge of burying the capsule, with a brass plaque marking its location. On Friday, DPW workers removed the plaque from its place and dug down approximately three feet to discover the capsule. They concluded that a small excavator will be required to unearth the object, which they plan to do sometime today.