On March 15, 1969, the newly completed Hawaii state Capitol was dedicated with a event that included prayers from local religious leaders, tours of the new offices, punch and cookies, and the placing of a time capsule in a cornerstone of the building.

The items selected for the time capsule were detailed in that morning’s Honolulu Advertiser and included things like photographs of both houses of the Legislature, annual reports from every state agency, a directory of state, county and federal officials, a bulky city directory, an economic development report and an issue of “Guide to Government in Hawaii.”

In other words, stuff as dry as the sands of an hourglass.

When the time capsule was opened this week — an event that was live-streamed, drawing comparisons to the infamous Geraldo Rivera stunt with Al Capone’s vault — what was found inside was, unsurprisingly, exactly what was put in 49 years ago. Nothing rare, nothing precious, all stuff that can be found in the Legislative Reference Bureau, State Archives, the State Library or at Antique Alley on Queen Street.

Some of those reports are probably still sitting on the same shelves in the offices where they were first stored in 1969, still unread. A secret vault full of dull bureaucracy. Great.

It would have been so cool to find a bit of personality among the bloodless paperwork, a small glimpse into the visionary spirit of the people who planned and built that odd, awesome building and the first people who were going to be working in those offices.

It would have been amazing to find a pen that Gov. John A. Burns had used to write the draft of his famous “subtle inferiority of spirit” speech he had given only weeks before, something that maybe still had his fingerprints on it. Or early sketches of different ideas for the Capitol that show the progression of planning. A little flower from an opening day carnation lei pressed in wax paper. Photos of the construction crew having lunch on a break between pouring concrete. Something informal and heartfelt and uniquely Hawaii in 1969.

But no. State government wouldn’t play that way, not then and perhaps not now.

Maybe 49 years was too soon for it to be opened. By waiting longer, the items enclosed in the capsule might seem more like treasures in the distant, globally warmed future when sea levels have risen, archives are lost to watery intrusion and mass amnesia somehow sets in and we forget what the state seal looks like.

There is another time capsule being planned for 2019 to take this one’s place. With the fresh experience of having felt the letdown of finding only common government documents, perhaps the new capsule can include items that will project a more human story to the people who open it in 2069. Hand-written notes from a heated policy debate. Menus from the places Capitol staff likes to order lunch. A T-shirt from a group of visiting preschoolers with all their tiny hands printed across the back.

Something that lets future Hawaii know that current Hawaii leaders had a little vision and imagination and soul.

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@ staradvertiser.com.