By Rachel Galvin
On October 11, the garden area at the Braithwaite Center for Active Aging in Deerfield Beach was filled with guests sitting and standing and waiting for the event to begin. This was the day chosen to bury a time capsule the city had obtained filled with historical tidbits to be opened by future generations of residents 25 years in the future.
The event began with the center’s director of community services, Jonathan Salas, greeting the crowd. He thanked everyone who helped make the event possible and said, “There’s some great history that will be encapsulated today” as he listed some of the organizations that had added items, including the city, the historical society, and the Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs. He acknowledged those who were in attendance, including representatives from Shiff Construction, who donated the time capsule, and Bezos Academy, fellows from Thailand and the organizer Vennillia Wyatt, in addition to Mayor Todd Drosky, Vice Mayor Ben Preston (District 2) and Commissioners Michael Hudak (District 1), Daniel Shanetzky (District 3), Tom Plaut (District 4), and former mayor Bill Ganz and former commissioner Gloria Battle. He also read a letter that he planned to include in the time capsule.
Reverend Dr. Nathaniel Knowles gave the invocation and said another prayer later.
Mayor Drosky then spoke, saying, “As we celebrate our 100-year anniversary, our centennial here in Deerfield, Beach, we’ve done a good job looking backwards at our humble, yet rich beginnings that we have here in the city. We’ve come a long way, and we’ve persevered, and there’s a lot that we’ve overcome and that we face … What does Deerfield Beach look like 25 years from today?
“What do we tell the future leaders of this city, and what are they looking at as we speak here today? So to the mayor and the commission and the residents 25 years from now, I first of all want to say, ‘thank you. Thank you for serving. Thank you for being in the roles that you were continuing the great legacy here in Deerfield Beach.’
“Second of all, I want to say, ‘You’re welcome. You’re welcome for the seeds and ideas that we are planting here today.’ Deerfield Beach is truly, truly at a crossroads right now where we are. Think about it. In 25 years from now, does Deerfield Beach have its own police and fire department or are we still with BSO? Twenty-five years from now, what does SW 10th Street look like that’s going to go under a major construction project with a highway basically through the middle of our city? What does our city look like, or are we two cities divided by SW 10th Street? What does the 1045 project look like, the 1045 project being in SW 10th and I-95? Is that a great community gathering where we all come together with an outdoor park? What does Deerfield’s downtown look like? Do we have a downtown? Do we have the vision and the purpose to put that downtown together for future residents to go to? Do we have a commuter rail station here in Deerfield Beach? One that brings new people to our city to play, to work, and to spend money? Residents that can come and work here on a daily basis? And our Pioneer Grove … what does that look like? Do we have new businesses? What great new businesses do we have in our city that will provide jobs?
“This is where we are right now, and I always said up on the dais that Deerfield Beach can be bold. Go bold. And I implore my colleagues today to continue that, to continue to go bold, to plant those seeds for the next 25 years.
“So when they open that time capsule, they can say, ‘thank you. Thank you for giving us the ideas, the tools, and the resources that we need to make Deerfield even greater than it is today.’ So remember today, I may or may not be around 25 years when we open this up. I hope so… But I appreciate everybody coming out here today and celebrating and participating in this event, which most of you will be here in 25 years, to see what Deerfield Beach is like. And I hope that your future for Deerfield Beach is the same future that I have in Deerfield Beach, and that we continue to live in the greatest city in all of South Florida, so thank you.”
Vice Mayor Ben Preston then spoke, saying, “I think today is already an example of forward-thinking. When you think of the whole history of Braithwaite itself, where it started, the history behind it, and I look at so many of my colleagues here, I thank our former commissioner Gloria Battle, who was a part of the bond process to even get this building over here. Our mayor Bill Ganz, he was a part of approving something that I brought forward to the commission to name this place Braithwaite. Our current mayor was a part of the process and Commissioner Hudak.
“The forward-thinking has already begun. Let me tell you this. Wherever we are right now in the process, we will be better equipped in 25 years. I can tell you that. You have people that care. This hometown atmosphere is full of inspiration, and it includes a vibrant, a very vibrant personality of growth and growth and growth. When I think about where we are, you know, I began my career in the fire department, and I put in the time, and I’m very proud of being the first African American firefighter to serve a community.
“But you know what’s even greater than that? It’s to serve the people who gave an opportunity to Ben Preston to make something of himself. I look at all of the contributors, people at the BSO … so many contributors right now. An example being Adam Hofstein, who always is coming to the commission, telling us what’s happening in our community. In 25 years, we will be better.”
He pointed out that Pastor Knowles and former commissioner Battle both attended Braithwaite and mentioned that it is now a historical site.
He added, “This is a very good moment. But go Deerfield, go Deerfield. And in 25 years, we’ll have a new set of thought processes that’s going to make us better for the next 25 years.”
Next, Commissioner Hudak said a few words: “So I’m going to start with, most everybody in here can remember where they were in the year 2000. Y2K and planes falling out of the sky [the next year on 9/11] and all of that. That was 25 years ago. Twenty-five years is not a long time. Most of us will still be here.”
He joked, “And hopefully, the [dilapidated] building in Palm Plaza will be gone,” adding, “We’ll have some new fire stations and a new police substation by then.”
“But on a serious note, the city is moving in a great direction. Look where we were 25 years ago. We probably had about 60,000 residents in Deerfield Beach. Now we have 90,000 residents. In 2000, I was a single dad with three toddlers and now I’m a granddad. So a lot changes in 25 years. We have set the path for greatness in Deerfield Beach. And it’s not just the commission, it’s the residents. It’s the individuals who are here today. The individuals who are involved in our community that make the difference in Deerfield Beach. So I thank you. We’ve got 90,000 residents in Deerfield Beach. And less than 100 of you make a real difference in our community. So I thank you. You are setting the path for what happens in 2025. And as our mayor said earlier, we are visionaries. This city is going in a tremendous, tremendous direction. And we have to keep that path going forward. So for the future elected officials, please see the vision and see the path and keep it moving forward.”
Commissioner Shanetzky said, “You know, when we put this time capsule in, we’re going to be looking towards the future. So many people in this city in Deerfield Beach have put so much love and time and effort into making this a wonderful city. There are a lot of us that are here right now. Some of us are very, very far away. And some of us are in heaven. I like to take just 10 seconds to think of those people who’ve given their heart and their compassion to make this such a great city.”
People bowed their heads for a few seconds.
Commissioner Plaut added, “ I am so proud and so humbled to be able to be here. Thank God and thank my family and thank my wife, and particularly her mom, who gave us an ad in a newspaper about a house that was for sale in a place called Deerfield Beach. We came up here and fell in love with this city back in 1983. And we came up Powerline Road, one lane each way.
And there was nothing on that corner by the 7-Eleven. And I found out from the realtor that we have to drive all the way to Federal Highway just to go to the grocery store, go to Publix. And at night we could see the Milky Way above our house.
“But we fell in love with Deerfield Beach when we went to the beach, when we drove around, when we saw the people that were going to live here. And I just thank God and my family that we put our roots down here. That was back in 1983. We raised two children. And it was a wonderful time in our lives. And all of this has culminated into our retirement so that we could further serve the city. And I can’t tell you what an honor that it is for me to be able to serve my residents and to be here. And, you know, all my life I dream about having a time machine. Well, I got one. So it’s great.
“But all kidding aside, I’m just really, really, really happy to come to this moment. I also have something to live for now besides everything else that’s going on. I’ll be 98 years old … But I want to thank everyone in the city and the staff for putting this event together.”
Former Mayor Ganz said, “You know, we think about where we were just eight years ago, a little over eight years ago. Commissioner Drosky then, Commissioner Battle, myself, fought and made a decision to expand and rebuild the Center for Active Aging. And look where we are now.
There were people who didn’t want that. We’re going to hear about projects that are going on right now that people might not want. But we’ll be able to see how important they are, how great they are for the city in the future. This location here is a testament to that.”
He went on to thank the commission and say, “This is important. The names and faces will always change. But the spirit of Deerfield Beach will continue on. We’re going to see some amazing things happen in the city.”
Ganz and Hudak had joked about being in rocking chairs at the center when the time capsule is opened. Commissioner Battle, who spoke next, said she would be 100.
Battle added, “I want to say to this commission, and I try to come to your commission meetings, that I see what you’re doing. I ask that you continue in the next years that you have here, that you continue to move forward, boldly. You do so courageously. You do so by the grace of God.”
Then she added her favorite phrase: “And always remember, there is no field … like Deerfield.”
Mayor Drosky then talked about how the time capsule is a special type of container and a special process to ensure it lasts another 25 years, adding. “And that would not be possible without our partner, Shiff Construction.”
The project manager from Shiff said a few words. “We are here to support the Shiff team and very proud to deliver this project to you all. And hopefully 25 years from now, if I’m not here, my kids will be here to see it.”
Mayor Drosky encouraged people to look at the city’s website to see what other events are coming up throughout the year to mark the centennial. He added, “Today truly marks history, history that we’re putting into the ground for future residents to see what we do here today.”
Next the mayor, former mayor, vice mayor, current commissioners and former commissioner Battle took golden shovels and shoveled a little bit of dirt on top of the time capsule in the hole.
People also had the opportunity to look at some of the items that will be in the time capsule and take photos.
Following the event, some took a tour of the center and others hopped on a shuttle and headed to the Fall Festival nearby in Pioneer Park.
