In May of 1996, the year 2008 perhaps seemed like an eternity away — especially to a group of students just finishing up the school year at Truman Kindergarten.

It was an election year, Disney movies were all the rage, a purple Dinosaur entertained children, tennis shoes that would light up with each step were a fashion hit, and the new Farmington Civic Center had just opened.

Parents of those children decided to capture those memories of that first year of school for the students in a time capsule. They were to open that box — a bit of their own “time in a bottle”, borrowing the words of the late Jim Croce — just before graduation in May of 2008.

And now, located in a display case at Farmington High School, is a time travel back to the toys and games of their youth. Cindi Thurman’s son, Andy, is a member of the class of 2008. She helped to organize the capsule and even became the “Keeper of the Treasures” as she stated in a letter sent home to senior parents.

Thurman says at the time the box was put together, the parents wanted to compile a group of items that would remind their students of the first year of school.

“We wanted to gather memorabilia that would help them remember how far they’ve come,” said Cindi, referring to their school years.

She recalled that there was a list of some items that parents and students could contribute and that some items were mementos that were special to those kids at the time.

Recently, Samip Patel and Andy Thurman took a few moments to glance at some of the items they contributed to the capsule.

Patel said until he saw the contents on display, he had forgotten how much the Power Rangers meant to him at the age of six.

“It helped me to remember that I would play with Power Rangers all the time,” he said with a grin. For the capsule he had contributed the Green Ranger.

Andy also looked at many of the items in the display case, pointing out those he had contributed. “And we’ve had that box at my house all this time,” he said.

Sitting on the display shelves next to the “Pocahantas” and “Lion King” coloring books and stickers were menus from Hunt’s Dairy Bar and Steak ‘n Shake. There were also Clinton/Gore ‘96 memorabilia, recognizing the Presidential election for that year. A 1996 Year in Review publication from “People” magazine features the late Princess Diana on the cover — a magazine that came out more than one year before her death in August of 1997.

Also on display are a pair of LA Gear light-up tennis shoes.

“I don’t remember if I had a pair of those or not,” said Patel.

Students weren’t the only ones making contributions to the capsule. Debbie Pigg — the secretary at the school — donated a yearbook from that year. One of the teachers from the 1995-96 school year gave many photographs of her classroom and one special gift.

“Mrs. Richardson made a tape cassette recording of each of her students reading,” said Cindi.

There are pictures from “Stone Soup” — the musical presented by the kindergarten classes and other special documents of recognition.

While the faces and names have changed throughout the years, Cindi knows that all students in the class of 2008 can relate in some way when they look at the display.

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