November 12, 2024
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Couple to seal dome containing time capsule

ALEXANDER – A couple who has built the largest time capsule in Maine plan to seal the facility at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15.

Boats will depart at 1 p.m. for Baltic Island in Barrows Lake where the time capsule is located. A number of state and local dignitaries plan to participate in the ceremony.

Two years ago, Roland and Grazina Paegle unveiled their millennium dome. Located on the 10-acre island near their summer home on Barrows Lake off Route 9, the dome is 29 feet long and more than 10 feet high.

Inside, the couple has stored family history. The idea to build a structure that would withstand time and weather occurred to the builders nearly 10 years ago. They were motivated by their own interest in their family histories. Roland’s family is from Latvia, and Grazina’s family is from Lithuania.

In addition, they invited the public to participate. They set aside a chamber for people who were interested in storing their mementos and memories in 50-, 100- and 1,000-year time capsules.

Roland Paegle said that the highly publicized capsules contain an array of documents that range from millennium year newspapers and 1,000-year space exploration travel predictions to letters for grandchildren or great-grandchildren from their grandparents.

The history dome and time capsule project, which began as a private endeavor, now is a joint venture of History Dome and Art Park Inc., a nonprofit corporation the Paegles set up and the Alexander-Crawford Historical Society.

The couple has also sponsored a “Look Ahead Project,” in area schools. During the past two years, several public schools participated. Some students interviewed anyone over 60 years old, while others interviewed their grandparents. This resulted in a book, which has been placed in the school library and a copy is in the History Dome.


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