THE LARGEST TIME CAPSULE IN THE WORLD, DATING BACK TO 1975, HAS FINALLY BEEN UNVEILED.
Countless pet rocks. A vibrant teal suit. Thousands of letters, photographs, and cassette tapes. And a groovy, bright 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 themselves, 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.
“My parents didn’t think they would be here 50 years later to retrieve it with us,” Fisher told NBC in a recent interview. “It’s pretty special to know that their voices [are] in there.”
“I made a mental note that in 50 years, if I was still alive, I would want 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.
“I’m hoping as [my mother is] looking down on us from somewhere that I can report back to her that a lot of the things she wanted for me and for my brother came true,” Galen said, upon reading the note.
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.
“There were packages from, I’m going to say, 3,000 people, letters and packages, letters to themselves, letters to their grandchildren, letters to their heirs,” Johnson says of the time capsule.
Though Johnson estimates that “80% of people are going to be able to get their items back” now that the capsule has been opened, some 20% are “going to be disappointed.”
“A lot of the packages that were wrapped in plastic have come out very, very well, but we have a layer of mould-type items on the outside of all the paper and cardboard,” she explains.
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.
“My father was a big proponent of life,” she says. “He did everything big.”