The contents of a 1950s time capsule are now available for public viewing in the lobby of Taylorville Memorial Hospital. An employee discovered the capsule earlier this year while cleaning the cornerstone for St. Vincent Memorial Hospital.
“We have always strived to respect and honor the history of the hospital and the many contributions of the Sisters,” said Kim Bourne, president and CEO of Taylorville Memorial Hospital. “That’s why we restored the stained glass windows from the original building and retained the statue of Christ that colleagues donated to the hospital in the 1950s. This public display of the time capsule contents is another way to celebrate that rich history.”
St. Vincent was the precursor to TMH, founded in 1906 by the Adorers of the Blood of Christ. The cornerstone was laid for a new hospital facility constructed in 1953 on the current site of TMH.
The time capsule held a history of the former St. Vincent Hospital including photographs of the hospital in 1940 and 1953, autographs of the Sisters of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ and hospital personnel, copies of the Western Catholic (a Sunday Diocesan paper) and issues of the Taylorville Breeze-Courier, which announced plans for the new hospital and coverage of the groundbreaking ceremony. There were also blessed medals and miniature statues, new coins from 1952 and 1953, a program for the cornerstone ceremony and group pictures of the medical and dental staff as well as two radiologists.
Most of the 1953 facility was razed in 2020 and 2021 during a large-scale renovation of TMH.
Corey Black, facilities manager at TMH, said Andy Mateer was power washing the cornerstone when the cleaning process uncovered something under the loose mortar. A rectangular piece of slate appeared, which seemed to cover a hollow void in the solid limestone. After careful chiseling, the time capsule was fully revealed and lifted out of the cornerstone.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the hospital’s affiliation with Memorial Health in 1995. The contents of the time capsule will be available for public viewing throughout August in a display case inside the main entrance of Taylorville Memorial Hospital.