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Originally Published: 03 NOV 25 19:05 ET

By Joe Wirthlin

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    SALT LAKE CITY (KSL, KSL TV) — Leaders from the Japanese Church of Christ unveiled artifacts found in a 101-year-old time capsule on Saturday, showcasing the story of early Japanese immigrants to Salt Lake City.

According to a press release from Michelle Schmitt, the previously unknown time capsule contained three newspapers, Sunday school records, an American and Japanese flag and two small bibles, one of which had been brought to Utah by a Japanese immigrant in 1906.

“Finding the time capsule without any record of its existence feels like a miracle, especially as we celebrate together 100 years of our sacred church building,” Japanese Church of Christ Reverend Andrew Fleishman said. “It’s a blessing to reflect on the Japanese spiritual pioneers who took care and attention to leaving this special gift for today’s generation to find.”

Discovery of the time capsule According to Schmitt, Lorraine Crouse, a trustee of the Japanese Church of Christ and former University of Utah historian, suspected a time capsule may exist, considering the popularity of time capsules at the time of the building’s construction.

Based on Crouse’s hunch, Japanese Church of Christ elder Alan Shino performed a geophysical radar scan of the building, discovering an unknown object hidden in the cornerstone of the church building. Officials then drilled into the interior of the church and discovered a 23 lb. bronze box, which contained the above treasures.

“Removing the box was exciting,” said Japanese Church of Christ elder Lynne Ward. “We were apprehensive about the contents. Was there anything in the box? What could be in the box? Would the contents be intact? We knew that whatever was inside was at risk of damage from simply opening the box. It must be done properly to preserve the artifacts that were hand-selected over one hundred years ago.”

Preserving the artifacts The University of Utah’s Marriott Library Preservation Department offered to assist and safely remove the artifacts from the time capsule in their lab. A small number of congregants from the Japanese Church of Christ were there to witness the event.

The Marriott Library Preservation Department released a report about the capsule itself and the contents found within.

Many of the items were in good condition, although the newspapers and a letter with the names of Sunday school teachers were damaged when workers accidentally pierced the box with drill bits while extracting the capsule.

The Marriot Library Preservation Department repaired the damages to the newspapers, removed creases from the papers and the flag and cleaned the items for easier display to the public.

Fleishman commended Japantown community members for their joint talents and efforts in finding the capsule. A video was shown at the ceremony that summarized the history of the Japanese Church of Christ, the time capsule’s discovery, each artifact within the capsule and their individualized care.

A diverse group of religious leaders attended the unveiling ceremony, along with hundreds of other guests. Religions represented included the Presbyterian Church USA, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Cathedral of the Madeleine, United Church of Christ, Salt Lake Buddhist Temple, Tongan-American Free-Weslyan Church, Kachin Trinity Church, and the Salt Lake Interfaith Roundtable.

Japantown’s place in Salt Lake City Fleishman said the important historical finding came during a time of lively debate surroundingJapantown and its place in the future of Salt Lake City. According to the press release, generational changes are being made to the downtown landscape to prepare for the upcoming Salt Lake Olympics.

According to the release, Salt Lake City’s Japantown was settled in 1900, with the Japanese Church of Christ and the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple operating as Japantown’s core. A Japanese garden is maintained by the Salt Palace ground crews, which provides urban green space and is home to a plaque honoring WWII Japanese American soldiers.

Japantown was bounded by South Temple, State Street, Third South and Seventh West. Japanese-owned restaurants, markets, service stations, hotels, professional offices, boarding houses and dry cleaners were all located within Japantown, though the expansion of the Salt Palace Convention Center in the 1990s reduced the original buildings.

Japantown continues to serve Japanese religion and culture, with the two churches hosting the Nihon Matsuri and Obon festivals and sponsoring community activities.

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IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — Idaho’s growing season is over, and the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation says local farmers are facing tough times to make ends meet.

When people think of Idaho, images of potatoes, fertile land, and agriculture usually come to mind. For generations, farming has been the backbone of the state’s economy. Now, that foundation is cracking under financial pressure, with many struggling to stay in business.

“This year’s growing season in Idaho was a really good actually. In some cases, maybe nearing record yields,” said Sean Ellis, spokesman for Idaho Farm Bureau Federation. “Remember, farmers are price takers, not price makers. They take what’s offered to them. And so they’re being offered prices for their farm commodity, for their crops that are well below what it costs them to produce those crops.”

The cost to grow a crop is at a record high, while the prices farmers receive for those crops continue to decline. Ellis says farmers are getting less for their work when the average consumer is paying more for food. 

“It’s the middlemen, that’s the reason prices are higher at the retail level than at the farm level: it’s the middlemen. Transportation, you know, retail markups, wholesale markups, promotion and marketing the whole bit. It’s not the farmers that are getting that money. It’s the middlemen that’s getting it,” said Ellis.

This economic squeeze isn’t new, and the impact is visible across the state. Between 2017 and 2022, Idaho lost over two thousand farms, an alarming rate of about one farm per day.

“The problem is, this current period of down commodity prices has been extended. This has been going on for several years now. It’s getting to get to a head right now. So something’s got to change,” Ellis warned.

On a brighter note, Ellis mentioned that the outlook for ranchers appears significantly better than for row crop producers right now.

Update 8:00 p.m. — The bodies of the missing fishermen have been found. They were found around 5:30 p.m on Henry’s Lake. Using sonar tech, search and rescue teams identified an area of interest, and sent a diver to investigate.

Island Park, Idaho (KIFI) – A search is underway for two fishermen in Henry’s Lake, north of Island Park, according to Fremont County Search and Rescue Commander Brett Mackert.

The search began around midnight Saturday after the two failed to return home as expected earlier in the evening, Mackert said.

A fishing boat was found empty in the weeds near the opposite dock with the engine at full throttle, but the two men have not been identified, and no recovery attempts have been successful.

 The boat vehicle the two fishermen were using was described as a small, red, aluminum boat with an outboard motor.

The water temperature of Henry’s Lake is 37 degrees, according to the National Weather Service, and the overnight air temperature was around freezing.

The lake was reported to have whitecaps and winds over 20 mph, creating strong waves. Henry’s Lake is known for its unpredictable weather, and higher winds can make boating unsafe.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office is being assisted in the search by the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, Fremont County Ambulance, and Air Idaho Rescue.