Emporia: halfway to 300
By Chris Walker (Contact)
Originally published 02:35 p.m., February 19, 2008
Updated 02:35 p.m., February 19, 2008
Wednesday at 6 p.m. at White Auditorium, the Emporia time capsule will be closed, which brings to an end our year-long sesquicentennial celebration.
It’s amazing to think how far our community has come in 150 years.
From the first settlers, the town has grown to more than 23,000 people. From dirt roads with horses and wagons, we’ve gone to paved roads with cars and trucks. The business economy has changed from small mom-and-pop shops lining Main Street to large industries on the outskirts of town.
As Emporia has grown up, it has spent time in the national spotlight, especially in the first half of the century, when United States presidents and world leaders would visit Emporia to listen to what people in the Midwest were thinking.
Today, our latest headlines tell of a community heading in a different direction with the downsizing of our largest employer. Although it seems like big news today, in the future it will be a small note in our history timeline.
While the first 150 years have come to an end, it’s fun to think about what Emporia will be like 150 years from now.
In today’s paper, we have a sesquicentennial special section that will go into the time capsule tomorrow. It looks back on our year-long celebration. Why not save this section along with our week-long Progress edition to create your own time capsule for your future generations?
Congratulations to all who took part and helped make Emporia’s Sesquicentennial a memorable year.