Preserving words and unlocking memories: that’s what we hope to do through the letters written for our Fishers Time Capsule. Over the past few weeks, Fishers residents have spent time writing down their story and best memories of Fishers for those in 2073 to open and read. Life will be so different in 50 years, so we want to make sure the future community if this great city learns and remembers what it was like before them.
Below are letters from some great Fishers leaders, including City Council President John Weingardt; local reporter Larry Lannan; Roz Harris, owner of Fit Chicks; and Curt Tappendorf, owner of Schoolhouse 7 Cafe.
John Weingardt, City Council President
Dear Future Resident of Fishers,
My name is John Weingardt. I moved to Fishers, Indiana in 1992 with my wife Tina and my two daughters Ashley and Abby. We had a third child after we moved here. His name is John Robert. We moved to Sunblest as our first home in 1992 and then moved to Winderemere in 1996. Our children all graduated from Hamilton Southeastern schools and have done well.
I am a CPA with my own firm in Fishers. Peachin, Schwartz & Weingardt was located at the Crosspoint Office Park. Our firm has been successful helping entrepreneurs realize their dreams.
I entered politics in 2012 when we were a town. I was the last Town Council President (there were only three in the history of Fishers). Our town council from 2012 to 2014 started the downtown redevelopment and Launch Fishers. We became a city in 2015 and myself and others in my political circles persuaded Scott Fadness to run for our first Mayor. He is a great leader and was the best choice for mayor.
(cont.) My goal was to leave Fishers in a better place than when I moved here. We have accomplished that in my opinion.
I hope my family is able to read this and realize how much they mean to me. Thank you Tina, my loving wife; my children Ashley (and husband Chris), Abby (and husband Ben), and John R. (and wife Sarah) for the unwavering support and love.
All my best to the future of Fishers,
John W. Weingardt
City Council President
Larry Lannan, local reporter
I am a 71-year-old volunteer journalist writing a local news blog. I have no idea whether blogs are even a thing in 2073. I started the blog in 2012 and my podcast series in 2016. As of this writing, I am still doing both.
When being asked to write for the people of Fishers in 2073, I looked back 50 years ago from this date in 2023. I was nearly 21 years of age in 1973, the Vietnam War was drawing to a close and President Richard Nixon was mired in the Watergate scandal that would eventually lead to his resignation. I was working in the radio broadcasting business at that time and studying political science in college.
I look back on the past 50 years as of this writing and could not have imagined the changes ahead. Technology leads the way, so I have no idea what technological changes you have seen since 2023, I only hope and pray it has enhanced the quality of your lives.
(cont.) I moved to Fishers in 1991, when the population was less than 10,000. As of this writing, the population count was just over 100,000. I have no clue what the population count will be in 2073.
My sincere hope for all reading this letter in 2073 is that, as a city and a nation, we have all found ways to get along with each other. Divisions based on race, ethnicity, class, and other issues have cost our nation and city much during my lifetime. As time has passed, I would remain hopeful that progress has been made and unnecessary conflicts are at a low level.
As I look back on my career, in radio broadcasting, a journalist, a federal civil servant and my current role as a volunteer working to make my community a better place, it is my firm belief that working to make the city in which you live a better place should remain a priority for you. When I retired as a civil servant, local news coverage in Fishers was not in a good place. I only hope I have made a difference in my retirement years, as that is my only goal – caring about my city and the people residing in Fishers.
My most important role has been that of husband and father. My wife Jane and I had just built a home in Fishers before our marriage in 1991. When our twin daughters, Allison and Mary, were born in 1994, Fishers provided a quality community in which to grow. The Hamilton Southeastern Schools gave them a first-class education. Both are college graduates. I am the grandfather of two as of this writing.
To you, residents of Fishers in 2073, I foresee a bright future. Those of us here now have done what we can, laying the groundwork for a place where people want to live. I expect those following us will do the same. Never take a quality community for granted. Work to keep it a great place to live.
Best to you and may God bless you all.
Larry Lannan
LarryinFishers.com
Roz Harris, owner of Fit Chicks
Dear Future Resident of Fishers,
My name is Roz Harris. I’m a Fishers resident in 2023 and I’m also a small business owner, too. I own and operate a boutique fitness studio for women called Fit Chicks. For years, I’ve been committed to serving a diverse clientele with a unique approach to fitness, nutrition, and well-being for women.
My goal was to help women of all ages and backgrounds to realize their dream of feeling healthy, happy, and strong. I know how tough it is to feel confident and in control because I suffered from obesity. It can be demoralizing to go to the gym and it’s hard to get a diet right.
(cont.) So, at Fit Chicks women were seen for who they were. My team and I gave them individual help, plus we had FUN, too. Fit Chicks was a space where a 13-year-old can learn to feel confident with her body as well as where a 74-year-old woman can be celebrated for holding a full-body plank for 60 seconds!
Roz Harris
Owner of Fit Chicks
Curt Tappendorf, owner of Schoolhouse 7 Cafe
50 years is a long time. But what about 50 seconds? Not even a full minute. The time it takes for a gentleman to step up to a counter at a coffee shop. To order a large coffee. Black. To exchange coins. To fill a cup with fresh brew, top it with a lid, and send it off to the gentleman with a smile and a “have a great day.”
On good days, those 50 seconds will echo with coffee beans grinding and coworkers chatting over the hiss of steaming milk. On funny days, the seconds will echo with coffee beans spilling and coworkers not stifling their laughter.
These moments come and go, sometimes too quickly for us to appreciate. But luckily, at Schoolhouse 7 Cafe, the joy of life’s moments is never in short supply. You can see it in the empty coffee cups. In the rack full of little bicycles. In the “have a great day” written on a regular’s latte.
Each of these 50 seconds becomes an hour, becomes a day, becomes a lifetime. And in nearly a lifetime from now, the City of Fishers will open a time capsule and find a glimpse into twenty twenty-three. Well, Future Fishers, Indiana, you can picture it all. The coffee and the spills. The smiles, laughs, and gasps. The community and the fellowship. Every hello and goodbye is saturated with love and a promise to pick up the check on the next coffee date.
Through the hustle and bustle, Schoolhouse 7 embraces the community at every step. Look by the front door and you’ll see local students’ artwork. Peek out the window and there is a yoga class out on the deck. Head upstairs and join in on the tie-dye party. It’s not just coffee. It’s community.
And there is a place for everyone. For the young and old, for the near and far. The joy spreads through each friend at Schoolhouse 7, seeping into the old brick and calling out to every passerby. The little old schoolhouse nestled on the corner welcomes you.
Curt Tappendorf
Owner of Schoolhouse 7 Cafe
Share the story of Fishers with future residents by writing a letter to be included in our community time capsule to be opened in 2073. Fishers is partnering with Towne Post to curate a community time capsule that will be placed inside the keystone of the new Arts & Municipal Complex. Letters can be delivered in person to the blue mailbox in the breezeway of the Fishers City Services Building (3 Municipal Drive) and lobby for Hamilton East Public Library- Fishers (5 Municipal Drive) or addressed to “Fishers Time Capsule” and mailed to 3 Municipal Drive, Fishers, Indiana 46038 by Friday, June 30. You can also swing by the Fishers Parks booth at the Fishers Farmers Market on June 10 and 17 to write and deliver your letter. Learn more at ThisIsFishers.com/Fishers150.