As the decade of the 1960s was winding down, it was an exciting time in Riverbank.
Next month, City Hall and the Riverbank Historical Society will be celebrating a 50th anniversary of sorts, with the recovery of a Time Capsule buried during the dedication of the Community Center, at 3600 Santa Fe Street, in downtown, across from Cardozo Middle School.
Though the population was just under 4,000 in August 1968, coming expansion and growth was expected and planned for. The first graduating class of the newly built high school campus was just a few short months from its cap and gown ceremonies.
According to former City Manager Rich Holmer, “city officials, community groups, businesses and every day citizens raised over $400,000 to construct a community center.” That value is estimated to be over three million in today’s dollars.
“As a monument to their achievement the city buried a time capsule in the cornerstone of the center. A plaque there denotes that it will be opened on August 17, 2018.” he said.
The Riverbank Historical Society and the city are planning a celebration to match the one held in 1968. The time capsule will be removed and placed in the Community Center to be opened at 6:30 p.m. before a dinner and dance begins. All will be invited to share in a toast once the artifacts are on display, he said.
It turns out, the ceremony and dinner is happening just in time, as the center is expected to be closed for a period of time, beginning in September, for long needed renovations.
Also in 1968, Mayor Bill Boston reportedly coined the iconic slogan, City of Action, which is applied to Riverbank even to this day.
Boston worked for the Bank of California, then at the corner of Third and Santa Fe streets in downtown Riverbank. It was called the Bank of Action, and he convinced the city council to adopt the slogan.
Posters are going up around town and dinner tickets to the event are available now at city hall and at the Riverbank Historical Museum, during its regular operating hours, 10 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays.
