DuPage County sealed a new time capsule in early June with contributions from municipalities across the county, part of the America 250 celebration marking the nation's semiquincentennial. The capsule is set to be opened in 2051.

Wheaton Mayor Philip J. Suess and DuPage County Board Chair Deborah Conroy closed the capsule together at the ceremony, according to a Chicago Tribune feature published Monday, July 21.

"The mayor of Wheaton and I closed the capsule and he reached across (the capsule) and shook my hand, and it meant a lot," Conroy told the Tribune. "It was all of us working together, valuing our community."

The items inside offer a snapshot of DuPage County life. West Chicago, founded in 1849 as a railway hub, left a toy train. Glendale Heights included an account of a daring rescue by two police officers on a frozen pond. Glen Ellyn contributed a leaf from a 200-year-old tree. On the quirkier side: Lisle put in a garbage sticker, and someone added a Trader Joe's gift card with no balance.

What Wheaton itself placed in the capsule has not been publicly disclosed.

The burial is part of a statewide wave this summer. Communities across Illinois are opening 1976 Bicentennial-era capsules and burying new ones to mark the milestone. Tribune reporter Christopher Borrelli toured several Illinois towns participating in the tradition for the July 21 feature.

Wheaton has its own America 250 programming. The city and the Wheaton Fine & Cultural Arts Commission held a logo contest earlier this year seeking community designs to represent the celebration, according to a city newsletter.