Many remembered when gasoline was under 50 cents a gallon. Others who had forgotten may have wished they had not been reminded.

Either way, Plymouth Place residents took a stroll into the past Tuesday when six time capsules, each buried to commemorate an expansion project at the La Grange Park retirement home, were opened and the contents examined in front of a standing-room-only crowd.

Residents and staff members, friends and officials attended the Cornerstone Celebration in Dole Hall. Also attending the ceremony was La Grange Park Village President James Discipio.

The capsules, sealed metal boxes, were dated 1946, 1953, 1957 and 1968. Beginning with the oldest, Plymouth Place administrator Audrey Klopp and facilities director Van Weiler extracted documents, advertisements, announcements, calendars and photographs from each of the capsules.

“Does anyone remember what the price of gas was in 1946?” Klopp asked the crowd. Her answer drew more than just a few laughs.

“The price of gas in 1946 was 21 cents a gallon,” she said.

As each capsule was opened, Dr. George Slezak, Plymouth Place’s newest resident, would move the contents to a viewing table where residents later had the chance to examine the items.

Mary Brown, who has lived at Plymouth Place longer than anyone else, joined her long-time friend Lois Earl to fill up a new time capsule that was later buried in a cornerstone in front of Plymouth Place on La Grange Road. The Rev. Phyllis Pennese offered a prayer as the time capsule was placed and sealed in the wall.

Earl, who serves as the retirement community’s historian, said handling the artifacts brought back many a memory.

“Some of those names that were mentioned were here when I came,” Earl said.

Brown, who preceded her late husband, Stanley as administrator of Plymouth Place, said she was having a little trouble following the proceedings.

“At the ripe old age of 102, I don’t have my hearing aids,” Brown said. “It’s not that I don’t need them.”