Sending a note to someone in 2076. (COURTESY KYRA PERALTE)

To understand the future, one must first evaluate the past. It was this idea that inspired Montclair’s Kyra Peralte to begin a community time capsule in Montclair that could bring people together for generations to come.

The Montclair time capsule is a chance for Montclair and other local town residents to capture parts of their lives for future residents to see. The capsule will be buried in November on the grounds of the James Howe House, the historic home of James Howe, a formerly enslaved man who became the first African American known to own a home in Montclair. The capsule will be opened in 2076. Inside will be letters, photos, menus and news items – anything that captures the Montclair that stands today. 

“What the time capsule does is it gives us a moment to ask ourselves, what do we cherish? Right now in 2026?” says Peralte. “And if we could talk about what we cherish, if we could show what we cherish, even if it’s a photograph or a picture that we draw, or…a piece from a favorite board game, or screenshot printed out from a favorite video game. Just some of these things that we might be taking for granted.”

Over the next few months, Montclair Community Time Capsule will continue hosting events for both adults and children to write letters, draw pictures, and create memories that will be placed inside the time capsule. Contributors include the Montclair Art Museum, Friends of the Howe House, Montclair Public Library and the Montclair History Center.

It won’t be Essex County’s first time capsule. Glen Ridge dug up a time capsule from 1981 in 2011, while in 2017, Maplewood unearthed one that was buried in the 1800s. Inside the Maplewood time capsule were business cards, invitations, coins and a copy of the Newark Evening News from July 8, 1898.

Peralte’s hope for this time capsule is that it will be a gift for those who open it. Growing up in Richmond, Virginia, Peralte often felt a lack of community, so it was surprising to her to see how people in Montclair felt so connected to their town and held such special memories. In a world where things can change so quickly, Peralte felt that it was important to preserve these memories for the future, to give people a chance to slow down and connect.

“We’re losing parts of us that make us human, that make us feel witnessed by one another,” Peralte says.

To combat the isolation of the pandemic, Perlate was inspired to create the Traveling Diary Tour, where people from all over the world receive a diary that has been written in by others from across the globe. The physical diaries travel directly from one individual to another, between communities, states and sometimes countries.

When asked how the Traveling Diary Tour connects to the time capsule, Peralte’s answer was simple: a communal purpose. The Traveling Diary and the time capsule involve people working on a project that shares thoughts, feelings and memories. Whether it is a woman somewhere in the world in 2026 or a teenager in 2076, both are taking part in something greater than themselves.

She hopes this time capsule, in some way, will be able to make a difference in how people view relationships, and in turn, each other.

On Saturday, Sept. 19 from 12 to 3 p.m., Montclair Community Time Capsule will partner with Montclair History Center. Visitors can write letters to the future and decorate envelopes that will be sealed and buried in ground at the James Howe House. Prompts and materials will be provided. Museum admission is free this day.