By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
City officials are inviting the community to join them for the unearthing of a time capsule buried a year after a deadly flood of the San Felipe Creek in 1998.
The time capsule ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 28, on the front lawn of the Del Rio Civic Center, 1915 Veterans Blvd.
A flyer posted by the city about the event reads, “Join us. . . as we unearth a time capsule buried by our community one year after the 1998 flood. . . After 25 years, we come together to honor our shared history, resilience and the journey we’ve taken since that pivotal moment.”
Nine Del Rioans died in August 1998 when the remnants of Tropical Storm Charley dumped more than 20 inches on rain on southern Val Verde County in a 24-hour period. The deluge turned the San Felipe Creek and the usually-dry Cienegas Creek drainage on the city’s north side into raging rivers, sweeping away vehicles, homes and businesses and killing two people on the city’s north side and seven in the San Felipe area of south Del Rio.
In 2023, the city held a ceremony at Brown Plaza to remember those who lost their lives in the flood: Gilberto Chacon, Concepcion Chacon, Octavio Hernandez, Candelario Paredes, Maria Pina, David Pyatte, Carmen Rios, JoAnn Schumann and Enrique Zuniga.
A year after the flood, a time capsule was buried outside the civic center.
Peter Ojeda, director of communications for the city of Del Rio, told The 830 Times on Saturday he believes it’s important for Del Rioans to attend the event.
“I think it’s important because after we suffered so many losses during the flood, we were able to get back together a year later and bury a time capsule containing mementoes that represented that moment in our shared history.
“It will be really interesting to see what the people at that time chose to include in the time capsule. I have no clue what’s in there. At the time it was Mayor (Roberto) Chavira who led the effort to place the time capsule, and I’m really excited to see what comes out of there,” Ojeda said.
He noted last year, the city commemorated the 25th anniversary of the flood itself.
“This year, we have the unique opportunity to see what happened a year after that, so we want to invite the community to come and join us,” Ojeda said.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com.
