100-Year-Old Time Capsule Revealed

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Adirondack Trust Company (ATC) celebrated the 100th Anniversary of the placement of the Main Office Headquarters cornerstone on Tuesday, June 28, with the opening of a 100-year-old time capsule that was placed there by Senator Edgar T. Brackett, the bank’s founder, in June 1916. The centennial celebration of the historic and iconic Saratoga Springs Headquarters was attended by more than 200 community leaders and members of the public of all ages, gathered on the corner of Broadway and Church Street in the warm summer afternoon. Retired teacher and Saratoga Springs native Claire Tarantino was among the crowd, cherishing memories of her father, Angelo Tarantino, who was born two years after the capsule was embedded in the bank building’s cornerstone. She said she could just imagine him as a little kid running around that neighborhood. “He used to have a business at 8 Church Street, Spa Liquors, which is now a lobby and drive-through area of the bank,” said Tarantino. “He rented his space from Adirondack Trust.” For her, ATC’s time capsule celebrates everyone of that time, bringing her to thoughts of the past 100 years, her dad serving as a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps, serving in the Pacific Theater before she was born all the way through her life with him before he passed away. “This is a little emotional and nostalgic for me to be here,” Tarantino added, “and it’s very exciting.” Her thoughts were echoed in the remarks of some of the speakers, including ATC Board of Directors Member Douglass M. Mabee, who highlighted key events occurring the past 100 years, such as the World Wars, Pancho Villa, the flight of Boeing’s first aircraft, the invention of Coca Cola’s original formula, and Rockefeller becoming the first billionaire in the world, as well as the generations of Mabees involved in ATC, including his son, Douglass T. Mabee. Charles V. Wait, ATC Chairman and CEO, announced some of the items found in the time capsule, which included: a typed letter from President/Senator Brackett to the Directors of The Adirondack Trust Company 100 years in the future; a letter written by Douglas W. Mabee, president of the Adirondack Landlord dated June 10, 1916 describing the organization of the Adirondack Landlord; two ten-cent bills, one circulated and one uncirculated; signatures of employees and directors; and coins, pamphlets and newspapers. Wait also read from a letter he will be placing in the new time capsule, to be opened in June 2116. In the letter, he spoke of financial innovation and destruction, inflation rates, Great Britain’s departure for the European Union, chaos in the Middle East, and the successful survival of thoroughbred racing and Adirondack Trust over the past 100 years. He ended the letter urging the future Board of Directors to pledge anew to the high ethics and philosophical foundations of ATC, ending with, “I’m confident that if these tenants of fair dealing and honest behavior are followed, this company will prosper for another 100 years.” The new time capsule will also include a June 10, 2016 copy of Saratoga TODAY; the book “With The Strength of the Adirondacks - A History of the Adirondack Trust Company 1901-2001” by Field Horne, Charles V. Wait, and Douglas M. Mabee; a 2015 Saratoga National Historical Park 5 oz. Silver Uncirculated Coin; a 1902 American Silver Dollar; stills and video of 2016 time capsule removal and ceremony; signatures of employees and directors; and other books, coins, financial statements, records and items. The bank’s website is AdirondackTrust.com. More photos from the time capsule can be seen at www.facebook.com/AdirondackTrust.