’90s nostalgia unlocked as Charter School opens time capsule

In honor of its 30th anniversary, the Marblehead Community Charter Public School unearthed a time capsule buried by its first students in the spring of 1996 — and invited alumni back to see what they had left behind.

On Nov. 21, anticipation grew as former students gathered around a deep hole in the school garden where the lockbox had been buried. They then sorted through the relics inside.

There were Bon Jovi and Nirvana cassette tapes, a floppy disk, a brick-sized wireless phone, a bottle of nail polish and a photo album that didn’t weather the decades well. There were a pair of jeans and a troll doll with bright pink hair.

MCCPS alumnus and now teacher Nick Santoro looks at old cassette tapes that had been buried in the school’s time capsule.
CURRENT PHOTOS / LEIGH BLANDER

“Boy, this brings back memories,” said Carol McEnenay, who started teaching at Charter in 1995 and still works at the school after a time away. “It’s so good to see everyone and hear what they’re up to now.”

Brothers Nick and Ben Santoro — who graduated from Charter’s eighth grade in 2004 and 2002, respectively — attended the reveal.

“It’s definitely a trip,” Ben said. “There are a lot of memories here. I’m taking it all in.”

Nick, a humanities teacher at MCCPS for the past 10 years, said he and Ben would try to download whatever is on the floppy disk and report back.

Former students and teachers at MCCPS hold pictures of their younger selves after opening a time capsule buried at the school in 1996.

Zach Wiggin, 42, a member of Charter’s first class, also returned to campus for the event.

“I definitely enjoyed my time here,” said Wiggin, who still lives in Marblehead. “There was such a sense of community.”

He hopes his two children, now 4 and 1, will attend MCCPS someday.

Sophie Cross, who graduated in 2000, said her years at Charter were transformative.

“I was a special education kid,” she said. “I had ADD and was the typical kid who fell through the cracks at my other school. When I came to Charter, it was the first time I understood what was going on in class. It was very hands-on. I was finally learning.”

Travis Bryan of Beverly, a 1998 graduate, said his daughter, Addy, is now thriving at Charter.

“She has really blossomed here,” he said.

School leaders plan to bury a new time capsule in the same spot this spring, to be opened in 2056. Students are already brainstorming what should go inside.