The futuristic tidbits come from the essays of Brice McMurphy of Biloxi and Amy McPeek of Ocean Springs, who are among the six winners of an essay contest to describe life 50 years from now. They will then be close to current retirement age. The time capsule is a project of the Biloxi Tricentennial Commission, which is conducting a survey of what the public considers the 10 most influential factors in Biloxi's history. That list also will go into the time capsule. Peoples Bank has donated the capsule and the site, which will be in the old downtown bank building that houses Ellzey's Hardware.
Public input is essential.
It will be interesting to see what things people think of when they think of what shaped Biloxi. The first step in this search was to approach past and present community leaders to get their thoughts. Those were whittled to the top 25, including such things as Hurricane Camille, the seafood industry, Iberville's 1699 landing, the Coast Coliseum, Interstate 10 and desegregation of schools and the beach. Now, it's time for the public to step in with their top 10 picks from the list of 25. The commission is hoping people will participate by sending in ballots by fax, mail or visiting the Tricentennial headquarters near the Biloxi Lighthouse.