Thunderstorms early, then becoming clear after midnight. Low 66F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%..
Thunderstorms early, then becoming clear after midnight. Low 66F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
Benjamin Dubin, left, with brother Avery, holds a time capsule buried for him by his father and mother in 2010 shortly before he was born. The capsule was unearthed on Friday after his dad Dr. Jon Dubin and the boys first dug for it on the fifth hole at the Bass Rocks Golf Club at the end of June.
Here are the contents of a time capsule for Benjamin Dubin that was buried to the side of the fifth hole of the Bass Rocks Golf Club in Gloucester in July 2010. Dr. Jon Dubin and his sons Benjamin and Avery were unsuccessful in finding the time capsule in late June but uncovered it Friday.
Dr. Jon Dubin of Pennsylvania with his sons, Benjamin, holding the time capsule, and Avery shortly after they discovered it on the fifth hole of the Bass Rocks Country Club. The capsule was buried for Benjamin in 2010 shortly before he was born.
Benjamin Dubin, left, with brother Avery, holds a time capsule buried for him by his father and mother in 2010 shortly before he was born. The capsule was unearthed on Friday after his dad Dr. Jon Dubin and the boys first dug for it on the fifth hole at the Bass Rocks Golf Club at the end of June.
Here are the contents of a time capsule for Benjamin Dubin that was buried to the side of the fifth hole of the Bass Rocks Golf Club in Gloucester in July 2010. Dr. Jon Dubin and his sons Benjamin and Avery were unsuccessful in finding the time capsule in late June but uncovered it Friday.
Dr. Jon Dubin of Pennsylvania with his sons, Benjamin, holding the time capsule, and Avery shortly after they discovered it on the fifth hole of the Bass Rocks Country Club. The capsule was buried for Benjamin in 2010 shortly before he was born.
Around noon on Friday, Aug. 19, the fairway rough of the fifth hole of the Bass Rocks Golf Club finally yielded a time capsule that a father and his two sons had attempted to dig up earlier this summer.
Dr. Jon Dubin, an emergency room physician from Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, and his two young sons had attempted to locate the homemade time capsule on June 28. Dubin and his former wife had buried the capsule for his now 11-year-old son at the Bass Rocks Golf Club on Beach Road on July 4, 2010.
They came up empty after 2 1/2 hours of digging.
Frustrated by not being able to locate capsule filled with mementos, Jon Dubin decided to give it one more try before his boys went back to school.
Dubin, Benjamin, 11, and Avery, 9, made the nine-hour drive to Gloucester mid-week last week. On Friday, they located the time capsule at the base of a stone pillar just a few feet away from where they were digging in June.
Among the treasure located inside was a plastic music box that plays “When You Wish Upon a Star,” an alien windup toy, a toy gyroscope, a container of Silly Putty, soft modeling clay, a kaleidoscope, a plastic dinosaur, a tape measure, a plastic frog, two letters including one titled “To Benjamin from the Year 2010,” and an ultrasound of Benjamin in the womb.
The capsule was made of PVC piping that had been capped at both ends, wrapped in plastic, and sealed with duct tape. On it was written the message: “If found, please do not discard.”
The Dubins were aided in their latest dig by photos the father had located from when the capsule was buried in 2010. In June, Dubin recalled how they buried the time capsule after coming through a path from the old Ocean View Inn. He recalls they buried it in front of a stone pillar.
Dubin provided a written account of the discovery, saying they first met with golf club staffer Thomas McAuliffe, who took them out to the fifth hole.
“We rechecked our old photos until we were satisfied we were in the right place,” Dubin said. They dug a large hole they thought would uncover it, but they still came up empty.
“Thought we’d pull the plug and find it. No capsule. Dug to past the depth the old picture indicated we’d buried it. Nothing. Everyone (was) speculating how it could not be there. None of it made sense,” Dubin said. “Incredibly, looked like maybe we would not find it again.”
Then they dug to the left of the pillar and hit the end of the time capsule and everyone was ecstatic, he said. “Then a pleasure to dig it out.”
“There she blows,” Benjamin yelled in a video as he freed the capsule from the ground.
Needless to say, Benjamin could not wait to see what the capsule contained, Dubin said.
They removed the outer plastic at the golf club and uncapped it. On the porch of the Colonial Inn, they opened the bags of items that had been sealed in the capsule.
Dubin was a gymnastics coach in Gloucester in the 1970s, and it’s a place he and his family like to come and visit.
Benjamin had been told the story of the time capsule his whole life and it was intended to be dug up when he was 10, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed those plans. Dubin has also buried a time capsule for his younger son in Pennsylvania.
Ethan Forman may be contacted at 978-675-2714,or at eforman@northofboston.com.
Ethan Forman may be contacted at 978-675-2714,or at eforman@northofboston.com.
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