On a recent Saturday morning, longtime Wayland resident Dennis Berry watched his grandchildren play soccer at Wayland Middle School and began thinking about what the same scene might look like 100 years from now.
Berry said the school building may be gone, the fields may look different, but he hopes at least one thing remains the same.
“A hundred years from now, there will be young people playing soccer, I hope,” Berry said. “I hope you can still play soccer on Saturday morning.”
Capturing those similarities and differences is at the heart of Wayland’s 250th anniversary time capsule, which Berry is assembling to give residents in 2126 a glimpse of everyday life in Wayland today.
Berry, a retired lawyer who has lived in Wayland since 1951, became involved in the project at the request of Wayland 250 committee chair Mary Antes. He has spent about 35 years involved in town government, including two terms on the Board of Selectmen and 12 years as town moderator.
Berry said the purpose and theme of the project is to “touch a future you will never see.”
Rather than filling the capsule with Wayland history, Berry wants to preserve details about the town that future residents might not find in history books.
“When I started the project, people thought, ‘Gee, don’t you want history?’” Berry said. “I said, ‘No, I don’t want history. That’s recorded somewhere.’”
Photographs will be a major part of that snapshot.
Berry is seeking photos of recognizable places, including road intersections, commercial districts, iconic landmarks, playgrounds and athletic fields. He hopes residents in 2126 will recognize the locations while seeing how much has changed about them.
“There are going to be a lot of similarities but a number of distinctions,” Berry said. “I think people 100 years from now will enjoy looking at that which is familiar.”
The capsule will also contain statements from town officials, residents’ predictions about Wayland’s future and student essays about the Constitution and artificial intelligence.
Berry said he wants the capsule to capture the world surrounding Wayland in 2026. He pointed to artificial intelligence as one of the defining issues of today and imagines future residents may be interested in seeing the uncertainty surrounding the technology at the beginning of its widespread public use.
“I think 2026 is the year AI blasts into public consciousness,” said Berry, adding that he hopes future Wayland residents will recognize that today’s residents tried to address problems of their time — school funding, climate change, and the town’s water supply — to the best of their ability, with the resources available, even when they disagreed on how to solve them.
“I’m not one who’s cynical. I’m not one who’s negative,” Berry said, explaining that even when he disagreed with other town officials, he believed they were giving their time and doing what they thought was best for Wayland.
The time capsule itself was donated by the John C. Bryant Funeral Home in Wayland. A burial date has not been finalized, but Berry anticipates it will take place later this fall with assistance from the Department of Public Works.
Current residents will never see the time capsule opened. But when Wayland residents open it in 2126, Berry said, he hopes they reach one conclusion.
“I hope they feel that we did our best,” Berry said. “I hope they feel that we did the best we could.”
Contributions are being accepted until Oct. 15. To learn more about the time capsule or to contribute, visit tinyurl.com/wayland-capsule.
This story is part of a partnership between Wayland Post and the Boston University Department of Journalism’s Newsroom program.
