WESTBROOK – It was a mix of emotions at the Westbrook Historical Society Tuesday, as tributes to one of the city’s most beloved residents gave way to a flurry of excitement at the official closing of the bicentennial time capsule.

Since June, when Westbrook celebrated its 200th birthday and opened a 100-year-old tin time capsule that had been buried in Riverbank Park, a committee led by City Clerk Lynda Adams has been working on a new capsule.

With a ceremonial tightening of the screws of a much larger stainless steel box, the committee closed the capsule for a century, not to be opened until 2114. The box will be kept in the historical room of Walker Memorial Library until it is buried this spring.

Just prior to the event, Adams, whose last day as clerk is Thursday, said the capsule was “crammed” with dozens of items. The committee has only disclosed a few of the materials included in the box to keep an air of mystery surrounding the capsule.

Adams said the centennial time capsule was closed on Dec. 16, 1914, a date the committee wanted to honor.?

Adams said that leading up to opening of the centennial time capsule, the committee couldn’t find any information about its contents, and wanted to replicate that mystery.

The event, which drew about 80 people, also served as a celebration of life for Eleanor Conant Saunders, a prominent Westbrook resident who died Nov. 22 at the age of 94. Friends and family arrived to pay tribute to the influential Saunders, who was a descendant of Westbrook’s first permanent settlers, the wife of former Mayor Donald Saunders, and was instrumental in the founding of the Westbrook Historical Society.

Barring considerable advances in health, most in the building Tuesday will not see 2114, a fact that served as a running joke through the ceremony, but also a reminder of its historical significance.

“I don’t know if any of you will be there or not,” Adams said to the audience about the opening of the capsule during Westbrook’s tricentennial.

Arty ?Ledoux?, Westbrook’s deputy director of public services and a bicentennial committee member,? ?said ?that, being an optimist, he already made a reservation at the? ?Super 8 motel in 2114.

Leading up to the official closing of the time capsule, Adams and Ledoux told the audience the stories behind the time capsule, as well as working with Saunders to transfer her family’s private cemetery, the Conant Burying Ground, to the city.

Throughout the night, friends and family spoke of Saunders as a person who knew what she wanted and always did the right thing.

Ledoux said that while working with Saunders, first during the time they put in on the Whitney Rose Garden, she was “passionate about her projects,” and if the maintenance of the garden wasn’t up to her standards, Ledoux would routinely receive calls from her.

“She would say, ‘Do you have time to come up and see me? I can see you this morning at 9:30.’ I think it was about 9:15,” he said, to laughter.

Ledoux added that throughout working with her on the cemetery project, the pair developed a friendship.

“I’m grateful that we were able to get it done for her before she passed,” he said.

Saunders’ nephew, Mike Corrigan, spoke about Saunders’ passion for doing things the right way, and also said she had a great love for Westbrook.

“History was so important to her, her family history, and the history of Westbrook,” he said, adding that every town needs people who share that passion.

Corrigan said Saunders’ home, on Conant Street, resembles a museum, and some of the antiques and documents from the house will end up at the historical society. Saunders kept scrapbooks of Westbrook historical items, which took up three full cabinets at her home.

“She was proud that Westbrook was an old mill town,” he said. “It’s a scene of real human striving, people really attempting to make life better for everyone. What happened here was important, and still is.”

Bruce Wallingford, who owns Ernie’s Cycle Shop on Conant Street, sitting almost in between Saunders’ property, said Tuesday that he and his wife established a relationship with their neighbor that began with Saunders’ distinctive personality shining through.

“After we bought the shop, Ellie sent us a card that said, ‘Welcome to the neighborhood, congratulations, and I surround you on all three sides,’” he said.

Closing the ceremony, and the time capsule, were members of the bicentennial committee, including former Mayor Bill O’Gara, Westbrook Administrative Aide Michelle Mecteaux, resident Christine Latini, Walker Memorial Library curator Julie Peterson, and City Councilor Mike Sanphy, who is president of the historical society.

Each holding a blue screwdriver, the group tightened the screws on the steel lid. A number of people rushed to take photos of the group, perhaps sensing, all at once, that it was history in the making.

During the next couple days, Adams will deliver the box to its creator, D&G Machine, which will place the box inside a secondary, larger box that will be welded shut.

“We’re hoping that will stand the test of elements over the next 100 years,” she said.

Tightening the screws on the bicentennial time capsule Tuesday are, from left, former Westbrook Mayor Bill O’Gara, Westbrook Administrative Aide Michelle Mecteaux, resident Christine Latini, City Clerk Lynda Adams, Walker Memorial Library Curator Julie Peterson, City Council President Brendan Rielly, Deputy Director of Public Services Arty Ledoux and City Councilor and Westbrook Historical Society President Mike Sanphy.