A century-old time capsule’s contents are unveiled in Kansas City

Associated Press

The contents of a time capsule that was entombed for a century in one of the nation’s preeminent World War I memorials have been revealed. There was a letter from President Calvin Coolidge, praising the spirit of the Kansas City community. The Egyptian Revival-style monument was erected in a burst of postwar patriotism. But a letter purported to be from General John J. Pershing, commander of American forces in World War I, didn’t quite go as planned. The cursive note explained that the time capsule committee members reached out to Pershing but received no reply. The museum chief curator joked that it was “a 100-year-old out-of-office memo.”