Abilene ISD -

Twenty-five years ago, Teysha Brown was a 10-year-old fifth grader at Crockett Elementary School who predicted that by 2024, everyone would be using flying automobiles and writing numbers in cursive, no one would have chores to perform, and scientists might have discovered a cure for cancer.

Those were among the predictions she made in November 1999, which she placed in a time capsule buried in December 1999 on the grounds of the former AISD elementary school. The 50-gallon container, which held 22 one-gallon containers of information from the last century, was dug up earlier in the fall by AISD maintenance staff. The capsule’s secrets revealed themselves Thursday morning when former Crockett students and staff joined current Crockett Program Officer Christine Krause in opening the one-gallon containers in front of AISD personnel and current and former Crockett students and staff.

Among the remarkably well-preserved items were Pokemon cards, assorted stickers, Beanie Babies, stuffed animals, handwritten notes and letters, pencils, newspaper articles from 1999, a list of the most popular songs and movies from that year, a water bottle, a crushed can of Coca-Cola, and a vintage Motorola cell phone that belonged to former second-grade teacher Ron Owens.

Owens – who later taught at Taylor Elementary School and served as an assistant principal in the district – addressed local media members when someone handed him his phone during the interview. Like everything else he pulled out of his gallon jug, he looked at it with wonder and amazement.

“I’m remembering these kids and wondering where they are today,” Owens said. “What has life brought them in the last 25 years? I still see some of my students around town; sometimes, I don’t recognize them because of how much time has passed. The kids at Crockett grew up in this community, so I’m wondering if they’re still in the area and what they’re doing.”

Brown – now Teysha Vinson – is a married mother of four children living in Hamilton, Montana, with her family and working as a landscape artist. She is returning to Abilene for part of the Christmas holiday but couldn’t make it in time for the opening of the Time Capsule. But her memories of the project were vivid, even 25 years later.

“I remember writing all of those things,” Vinson said. “I think TV shows like The Jetsons and movies like Back to the Future put those visions of flying automobiles in our heads, so I thought it was inevitable that it would happen. I guess it’s disappointing that we’re still on the ground 25 years later. I would appreciate a flying car since I’m driving from Montana to Abilene.”

Owens recalls that 25 years seemed so far away to everyone, especially to the students, that it was difficult to imagine what life would be like when the Time Capsule was dug out of the ground and opened. Vinson echoed that sentiment.

“As a kid, when you’re putting things in a Time Capsule, you’re not thinking about it seriously,” said Vinson, a student in Mrs. Leslie Alford’s classroom. “It just seemed so far away. But now, here it is. And it’s cool that 90s culture is back in style.”

Like Vinson, Jerron Packwood was a 10-year-old fifth grader at Crockett in December 1999. Twenty-five years later, he owns a local fence business and has seven children with another on the way. Packwood said that when he heard about the time capsule’s opening, his mind returned to his days as a Crockett Crocodile.

“I’ve talked to my wife and employees over the last few days, trying to figure out what I would have written and my thoughts about 2024,” Packwood said. “I’ve been flooded with memories of Crockett Elementary School. I know the building doesn’t serve as an elementary school anymore, but I remember many great times on the campus. And, of course, I remember doing the time capsule, but I don’t remember what I put in it.”

For the record, Packwood predicted that humans could travel at the speed of light in space by 2024. Like Vinson, he believed flying automobiles would be popular. He also believed that computers with “ten times the technology that (we) have now” would exist.

He is correct about computers. Most people carry cell phones that are more powerful than desktop computers from the 1990s.

“The world has changed in 25 years,” Packwood said. “It seemed a lot simpler in 1999.”