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Message in a bottle found at VE
Before Vandalia Elementary was demolished, masons painstakingly removed the two marble dedication plaques at the building's entrance. They also removed the stone that was engraved with "Butler Elementary School" above the building's south gymnasium entrance. Behind this stone they found an unexpected treasure: a message in a bottle!
Sealed inside a Coca-Cola bottle (manufactured in 1943 in Dayton, by the way) was a yellowed piece of lined paper. The paper was extracted at the June 14 Board of Education meeting, revealing the names and addresses of Conrad G. Kreitzer and Everett R. Dailey. The paper is dated February 3, 1944. The search is on to find who these two gentlemen were.
The district has kept the stone "Butler Elementary School" sign, but the Historical Society of Vandalia-Butler has taken possession of the dedication plaques. They will be displayed in the Butler Elementary School exhibit at the Brown School House in the future.