Heritage Receives 30-Year-Old Time Capsule Contents
Items received from the time capsule
In a fast-paced industry like ours, it’s helpful to always have eyes on our future: What support services will this consumer need in six months? How many older adults will need home delivered meals next year? We could run out of breath pondering those kinds of questions and goals.
Taking the time to consider our past isn’t as common, though. So it felt like an invigorating breath of fresh air when Heritage staff recently got the chance to take a look into yesteryear.
Heritage recently received an envelope filled with decades-old agency reports, outreach materials and more. The contents were originally assembled to be part of Kirkwood Community College’s 50th anniversary time capsule, which was sealed in 1991.
That time capsule was opened in 2016 and the items have been preserved by Carrie Anderson, Executive Assistant to the President, in the years since. Heritage AAA thanks Carrie Anderson for sharing these items with the agency and congratulates her on her upcoming retirement!
Looking into our agency’s past was a chance to reflect on the importance and timelessness of work empowering older adults. Older Iowans then and now want to be a key part of their communities – and absolutely have the right to be.
Helping Iowans age in place and contribute to their communities fueled us 30 years ago and keeps us motivated to this day. As we have an eye out for how we can best serve the older adults of tomorrow, our mission of empowering Older Iowans will continue propelling us well into the future.
Scroll through the photos below to get a glimpse 30 years into Heritage’s past. Descriptions of the items can be found below.
All time capsule items received by Heritage
Heritage Area Agency on Aging brochure and brochures for congregate dining information in each of Heritage’s seven counties served. There were 42 active sites at the time.
Heritage Annual Report for Fiscal Year 1991 (July 1990 – June 1991)
Letter from Judith G. Parks, Nutrition Project Manager
Booklet from the Senior Issues Conference held at Kirkwood Community College on July 27, 1991. The event drew 1,200 attendees and was planned by 55 local organizations and individuals. It featured speakers from Eastern Iowa and beyond with presentations covering finance, legal, workforce and health/wellness topics.
Keynote Speakers for the Senior Issues Conference: Arthur Sherwood Flemming, former Commissioner on Aging; Bonnie Campbell, Iowa Attorney General; and Jim Leach, IA-1 Congressman
The Involvement: A growing Older Magazine – Nov. 1991 issue. This free publication was mailed to 36,000 households in the region on a quarterly basis. Contents from this issue include: news and updates; announcements from around the region; an advertisement for a Heritage-sponsored Caribbean cruise; submitted writing from Iowa’s Attorney General, doctors and older adults; job opportunities for older adults; matchmaking for singles; and games/puzzles.