Community Corner

Delco Time Capsule Finds Home at Oak Creek Community Center

Capsule will be opened in 2056.

When Delco Electronics sold its avionics business to a competitor in 1996, it was a bitter time for employees at the company's Oak Creek plant.

But wanting to commemorate the thousands of workers who put in countless hours there, a group of employees put together a time capsule, featuring pictures, products and other historical information from the business' 47-year history. The capsule was then sealed in a concrete monument and is to be opened in 2056, the year of Delco's 120th anniversary.

It stood in front of the plant at Drexel and Howell until about five years ago, when it started to become clear that the entire facility would be demolished. It was moved into storage and has been collecting dust ever since.

Find out what's happening in Oak Creekwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

That is, until Tuesday, when the capsule was placed at a new, permanent location in front of the .

Oak Creek Community Center Director Rich Duchniak said the center was honored to host it. And to a small group of former Delco workers who were on hand to watch the capsule be lifted to its new home, the spot is perfect. It's in the middle of town, on Howell Avenue and in a highly-visible site, as more than 100,000 people enter the community center each year.

Find out what's happening in Oak Creekwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"It's fitting to be here," said Pete Maguire, president of a Delco retiree group.

Maguire noted that when the plant was built in the 1950s, Howell Avenue was a two-lane road and Oak Creek's population was a few thousand.

At its peak, the Delco plant had 8,500 employees.

"It drove people here, it drove business here, it opened up Howell Avenue," Maguire said of the plant. "It's a key element of Oak Creek history."

The accomplishments of the avionics business were historic. It's perhaps best known for its work with the Apollo space program, as the company built its guidance and navigation systems. It also provided the U.S. military with many airborne applications.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here