OETA Story on Mason 1925 Time Capsule found aired on 06/11/09

This is a story that aired on OETA Public Television's The Oklahoma News Report in Tulsa Oklahoma as reported by Cathy Tatom and photojournalist Tim Carson. For more information or to contact us, please go to www.oeta.tv

The verbatim script follows below...

TULSA'S OLD CLINTON MIDDLE SCHOOL IS BEING TORN DOWN.

LITERALLY BRICK BY BRICK.

WHEN CONSTRUCTION WORKERS GOT TO THE CORNER STONE THEY CALLED IN THE MASONS BECAUSE A MASONIC SYMBOL WAS ETCHED INTO IT.

AS OETA'S CATHY TATOM REPORTS, WHEN THE MASONS PULLED DOWN THE STONE, A TREASURE WAS FOUND BEHIND IT.

ROW BY ROW CONSTRUCTION WORKERS ARE TEARING THE BRICK FACADE OFF THE OLD CLINTON MIDDLE SCHOOL IN TULSA.

IT WAS ORIGINALLY BUILT AS A HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE COMMUNITY OF REDFORK.

AS THE CITY OF TULSA EXPANDED, IT BECAME PART OF THE TULSA SCHOOL DISTRICT.

AND EVENTUALLY SWITCHED FROM BEING A HIGH SCHOOL TO A MIDDLE SCHOOL.

John Autry/Principal: "This building's been here the oldest part since 1925 and we're building a beautiful new $20 million dollar next door to replace it."

THE NEW BUILDING OPENS TO STUDENTS IN THE FALL.

BY THEN THE OLD BUILDING WILL BE GONE, AND A PARKING LOT WILL SIT IN ITS PLACE.

BUT BEFORE THIS BUILDING CAME DOWN, IT REVEALED A SECRET.

A TREASURE LAY HIDDEN IN THIS LITTLE NICHE FOR MORE THAN 80-YEARS.

A COPPER TIME CAPSULE PLACED BEHIND THE ITS CORNERSTONE.

PRINCIPAL JOHN AUTRY SAYS HE'D HEARD RUMORS ABOUT IT FOR YEARS, BUT NO ONE KNEW FOR SURE THAT IT REALLY EXISTED.

John Autry/Principal: "On this cornerstone there was a Masonic Lodge symbol on the East side of the stone and on the North side was the board of education members at the time and we'd always heard there was a box or some kind of capsule in there."

WHEN THE CORNERSTONE WAS TAKEN OFF FOR SAFE-KEEPING THIS UNSEALED COPPER BOX WAS REVEALED.

SO WHAT WAS INSIDE THE BOX?

John Autry/Principal: "In there we found a 48 star flag of the time. We found a Tulsa Tribune Sunday edition of the date that they placed the stone on the building. May 3, 1925."

ALSO INSIDE WERE LISTS OF THE SCHOOL'S TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS.

AS WELL AS DOCUMENTS PLACED BY THE MASONS.

THOSE INCLUDED MEMBERSHIP LISTS AND A LITTLE BOOKLET BELIEVED TO CONTAIN THE MASONS BYLAWS AND GUILDLINES.

AUTRY SAYS ITS TOO FRAGILE TO OPEN TO MAKE SURE.

"We're gonna display all these artifacts in one of our trophy cases once we get in the new building."

AND FOR THOSE WHO WOULD LIKE TO HAVE MORE THAN JUST A MEMORY OF THE OLD BUILDING, AUTRY SAYS THE SCHOOL IS THINKING ABOUT SELLING SOME OF THE RECOVERED BRICKS FROM THE FACADE.

HE THINKS ALUMNI LIKE HIMSELF WOULD LIKE TO HAVE ONE FOR A KEEPSAKE.

"As this building is torn down they're going to save the original name plate that's up here on the top, then the construction worker will take some of the bricks that they've recovered from this project and the capstone that was hiding that treasure box and build it into a monument that will go out in front of the new Clinton Middle School. In Tulsa I'm Cathy Tatom, the Oklahoma News Report."

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