Burying pieces of history
Suburban Journals
June 8, 2010
by Scott Bandle
By themselves, they do not seem to be that unusual - construction documents, a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol, a proclamation from Gov. Jay Nixon, and other items of historical significance.
However, when they are viewed in 2085, they will be a source of curiosity and knowledge for future generations.
That was the hope of politicians and federal officials June 2 at the construction site of the new National Personnel Records Center.
They gathered to dedicate a time capsule filled with these and other items that will be opened at the facility in 2085. The event will mark the 100th Anniversary of the National Archives and Records Administration, which oversees the center, 1828 Dunn Road in Spanish Lake.
The records center, currently located in Overland, maintains more than 110 million military and civilian personnel files. The new $100 million facility is under construction and will open in 2012. The center will move because of its aging facilities.
The time capsule will be placed in the lobby of the new record center.
When it is finished, the center will house 400,000 shelves under a six-acre roof, NARA Archivist David S. Ferriero said.
Despite the availability of microfilm and digital screening, paper is the best use for these files.
"With millions and millions of files, it would take too much time and cost too much money to digitize them or put them on microfilm," Ferriero said after the ceremony. "It would take decades to do it all. That's why we stick with paper."
The government has 24 other archives, but the St. Louis records center is the only one outside of Washington D.C. to hold personnel files.
Ferriero, the keynote speaker, emphasized the history in these files.
"This center will be home to the personnel records of those who served our nation in uniform or as civil servants from the late 1800s through the end of the 20th Century," Ferriero said.
Many contain information on famous people.
"You have records from veterans like Elvis Presley, President John F. Kennedy and sports figures like Roberto Clemente and Jackie Robinson," Republican Sen. Christopher S. "Kit" Bond said.
Bond joined Democratic Congressman William "Lacy" Clay Jr., St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley and other officials during the ceremony.
Several of the speakers praised the late car dealer Johnny Londoff for his work on the project. He provided the 30-acre site for the new center.
"This land was doing absolutely nothing and Johnny wanted to do something with it," Dooley said. "There's nothing better than the NARA's record center going here."
His family was presented with a photograph of Londoff when he was a U.S. Marine. The photograph was found in the archives.
