LARGEST TIME CAPSULE IN THE WORLD FINALLY OPENED SINCE BURIED IN 1975

Several rocks were kept as pets. A bright teal outfit. Thousands of cassette tapes, photos, and letters. Additionally, there was a brilliant yellow Chevy Vega. These are just some of the gems found within what the World Record Academy originally declared to be the largest time capsule in the world. For the first time in almost 50 years, the time capsule, which was first buried in 1975, has now been excavated in Seward, Nebraska, revealing priceless, intriguing, and occasionally surprising objects.

Three days were needed to finish the opening, which fell during Seward's Fourth of July festivities. For a look into the past and to recover artefacts they had buried, thousands of tourists descended upon the tiny hamlet. To reunite with their contribution—a cassette tape with voice messages from family members—Stephanie Fisher, for example, went from Colorado with her family. In a recent interview with NBC, Fisher stated, "My parents didn't expect they would be here 50 years later to retrieve it with us." "Knowing that their voices [are] in there is very nice."

“I made a mental note that in 50 years, if I was still alive, I would like to come back here and be part of the opening,” said Chris Galen, who came from Virginia to Nebraska. After all, among the stacks of unsorted mail, he was able to locate the letter his mother had kept inside the time capsule.

After reading the note, Galen remarked, "I'm hoping that when [my mother is] looking down on us from somewhere that I can report back to her that a lot of the things she hoped for me and for my brother came true."

According to his daughter Trish Davisson Johnson, Harold Davisson came up with the idea for the time capsule because he "wanted to wait for his grandkids to recall life in 1975." To keep moisture out, Davisson even designed a ventilation system to safeguard the thousands of items locked inside. The capsule held the distinction of "world's largest time capsule" until it was finally buried in 1975; however, that title was later revoked in 1983. To regain the distinction, Davisson built a pyramid on top of the capsule because he was not going to give up. Since then, the time capsule has acted as a moving reminder of the history of the entire country as well as the community.

Johnson describes the time capsule as having "packages from, I'm going to say, 3,000 people, letters and packages, letters to themselves, letters to their grandkids, and letters to their heirs."

About 20% of people are "going to be dissatisfied," despite Johnson's prediction that "80% of folks are going to be able to get their goods back" now that the capsule has been opened.

"We have a coating of mould-type materials on the outside of all the paper and cardboard, but a lot of the goods that were wrapped in plastic have come out very, very nicely," she says. 

Nevertheless, considering the length of time the time capsule was buried, those odds are favourable and impressive. To better honour the contents of the capsule and the effort her father undertook all those years ago, Johnson really intends to design a permanent display for it.

She claims that her father was a strong supporter of life. "He accomplished everything significant."