JOSH DAVIS/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
Jenny Cropper-Rines, 50th anniversary committee chairwoman, during the annual meeting last Saturday addresses the whereabouts of a time capsule buried several decades ago and scheduled to be opened.

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(Aug. 16, 2018) There was good news and bad news about a time capsule buried in Ocean Pines 30 years ago, according Jenny Cropper-Rines, chairwoman of the association’s 50th anniversary committee.

“The good news is, we do know where all the power lines and utilities are in the area of the southeast corner of the admin building,” she said during the annual meeting on Saturday. “The bad news is, we can’t find the time capsule.”

Cropper-Rines said the capsule was buried in 1988 to mark the occasion of Ocean Pines’ 20th anniversary. A monument to it stands near the southeast corner of the administration building.

“The first thing we did was dig where the monument was – and there was no time capsule there,” she said.

Next, members of the 50th anniversary committee tried everything from metal detectors to divining rods to find the elusive memorial.

Cropper-Rines said she even tracked down the chairman of the 20th anniversary committee and examined photos he had taken some 30 years ago,

“We looked at the photos and realized they’d obtained the monument several months after they buried the time capsule, so the pictures made it look like it was in a completely different place.”

Holes dug in the capsule quest were large – some as much as four or five feet deep, she said.

“There was one hole we saw water in,” she said. “The public works guys were wonderful. It was like a treasure hunt – everybody wanted to find the thing, but we didn’t find it.”

Executive Assistant Michelle Bennett tracked down an old press release, “so we do have an idea of what was in [the capsule],” Cropper-Rines said. That apparently included photographs from various Ocean Pine clubs, a 20th anniversary parade videotape, and an audiotape of an original song about Ocean Pines.

“To make a long story short, we’re going to do another time capsule this year,” Cropper-Rines said. “And we’re going to come up with something slightly more clever than putting it in the ground, I think, which appears not to have been a good idea.”

She added a capsule buried 10 years ago was found and would be relocated.

“We are not going to look at the contents, because we’re not supposed to for 20 more years,” she said.

“That’s it. It’s kind of a bummer, but … it was a little bit of an adventure,” she added.

Sharyn O’Hare, also on the 50th anniversary committee, thanked Cropper-Rines for her work in planning and overseeing several commemorative events and activities.

They have included an anniversary logo contest, new entrance signs, a license plate auction, parade and family fun day, golf tournament, beach bash, and a cocktail party, held last Saturday.

“We kind of twisted her arm, [but] she was amazing,” O’Hare said.

Upcoming anniversary events include a racquet sports tournament Aug. 18, boat parade Aug. 25, winter gala Nov. 10, and a sock hop on Dec. 14.

“If there’s one thing that this anniversary has shown me, it’s that we have a really cool community of people who love it and are willing to work to do things that are nice for it,” Cropper-Rines said. “Thanks to everyone who’s volunteered and the staff, who has had just bottomless patience.”

For more information on 50th anniversary events, visit www.oceanpines.org/ocean-pines-celebrates-50-years-excellence.

To contact Cropper-Rines with items or ideas for a new time capsule, call 443-614-6215 or email jennifer@cropperrines.com.