{"id":456,"date":"2021-12-08T16:35:50","date_gmt":"2021-12-08T16:35:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/scua\/?p=456"},"modified":"2021-12-08T16:40:30","modified_gmt":"2021-12-08T16:40:30","slug":"encapsulating-a-moment-in-norfolk-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/scua\/2021\/12\/08\/encapsulating-a-moment-in-norfolk-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Encapsulating a Moment in Norfolk History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Steven Bookman, University Archivist<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\"timecapsulebox\"<\/a>\n<\/div>
Florence Crittenton Home’s Time Capsule, Norfolk, Virginia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While filling out a recent research request in the archives, I noticed a box in the stacks that read \u201cODU Time Capsule.\u201d Being an inquisitive (\u201cnosy\u201d) archivist, I decided to take a look and see what was inside. Up to this point, I hadn\u2019t heard of any active time capsules on campus. The box was a part of a recent transfer from the office of the Vice President for Administration and Finance, which oversees the grounds and landscaping on campus.  In the box were a few early histories of the William & Mary Norfolk Division, the predecessor to Old Dominion University (ODU), and a copper tube with one of the ends open. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\"timecapsuleopening\"<\/a>\n<\/div>
Discovering what is inside the copper box <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Inside the tube were old publications, news clippings, artifacts, and other material related to the Florence Crittenton Home for Unwed Mothers<\/a>, which operated in Norfolk from the 1890s to the 1970s. The home was last located in the Larchmont area of Norfolk overlooking the Lafayette River. The home\u2019s mission was to aid unmarried women during their pregnancies. One might ask \u201cHow did a time capsule with material from the Florence Crittenton Home come to ODU?\u201d It may be a surprise to some people, but ODU and the Florence Crittenton Home have had a relationship going back 45 years. In 1977, the house and the records of the Florence Crittenton Home were given to ODU, with the records being house in Special Collections and University Archives. From the 1970s to the early 2000s, the Florence Crittenton Home was the location for ODU\u2019s Center for Coastal Oceanography (CCPO) before the facility was torn down to make room for new housing. One would suspect that the time capsule was found during the demolition of the building and given to the Vice President for Administration and Finance office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\"timecapsuleinventory\"<\/a>\n<\/div>
Inventory of the time capsule<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As to the time capsule itself, it appears to have been placed during the cornerstone laying ceremony on October 15, 1949. Included in the time capsule are a copy of the cornerstone laying program and the charter of Florence Crittenton Home; clippings from local newspapers about the groundbreaking ceremony and the new facility; manuals from the local Masonic Lodge; a brief history of the home; a travel edition of the New Testament Psalms and Proverbs; samples of dirt from the area; and two coins, one a quarter from 1948, and the other is a half dollar commemorating the 250th<\/sup> anniversary of Norfolk from 1936. Since the time capsule is important to the history of the Florence Crittenton Home, it will fit better to be a part of the home\u2019s records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\"timecapsulecornerstonelaying\"<\/a>\n<\/div>
Corner-Stone Laying Program <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\"timecapsuledirt\"<\/a>\n<\/div>
Dirt from the site of the Norfolk Florence Crittenton Home was included in the box<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\"timecapsulebible\"<\/a>\n<\/div>
A small copy of the New Testament was included in the box<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So, if you are interested in finding out more information about the Florence Crittenton Home, the physical records are in Special Collections and University Archives. The guide to the collection can be found at https:\/\/archivesguides.lib.odu.edu\/repositories\/5\/resources\/40<\/a>. Photographs of the home while it was a part of the CCPO can be found in the ODU Libraries Digital Collections at https:\/\/dc.lib.odu.edu\/digital\/collection\/oduphotos\/search\/searchterm\/Crittenton%20Hall\/field\/buildi\/mode\/exact\/conn\/and<\/a>. A short video clip on the home\u2019s mission can be found in the WTAR-WTKR Hampton Roads, Va., Historic News Film Collection at https:\/\/dc.lib.odu.edu\/digital\/collection\/wtar\/id\/1862\/rec\/1<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Steven Bookman, University Archivist While filling out a recent research request in the archives, I noticed a box in the stacks that read \u201cODU Time Capsule.\u201d Being an inquisitive (\u201cnosy\u201d) archivist, I decided to take a look and see … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3954,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wds_primary_category":0},"categories":[81,24,85,137,136,87,52,4,64],"tags":[211,214,212,207,209,210,215,208,213],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/scua\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/scua\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/scua\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/scua\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3954"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/scua\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=456"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/scua\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":460,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/scua\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456\/revisions\/460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/scua\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/scua\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/scua\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}