If you’re a Retro Renovator, at some point you’ve probably unearthed a hidden story from within your own home. Perhaps it was stripping the kitchen wallpaper to discover three more layers of interior design history underneath. Reader Cindy was extra lucky: When she recently remodeled her bathroom, she found a real time capsule tucked away by the home’s previous owners, who had remodeled the bathroom 39 years ago. Pam had me play Brenda Starr — and I actually connected with those previous owners to learn what they remembered about creating their message in a bottle or, as it were — in a peanut butter jar?!
Cindy told us that in the process of demolition, her contractor found a time capsule, which the previous owners had put into the wall when they re-tiled the tub surround:
You can see the time capsule in the wall above the sink. We opened it, and I took pictures of what was in it, then we put it back in the wall, along with one that I made.
Contents included a note from the desk of Gerry and Georgia Strickfaden dated November 20th, 1976, along with ephemera found around the house.
The note reads:
From the desk of Georgia Strickfaden
Time Capsule
Planted here November 20, 1976 during bicentennial of USA by Gerry and Georgia Strickfaden, married 3 years, and in this house 3 months. Carter elected president of United States. We voted for Ford.
It’s a small world — we all love history
Pam had me track down the Strickfadens to see what they thought about their time capsule being found after all these years and to get permission to show their names here. A few Google searches later, I found the Strickfadens — and discovered both Georgia and Gerry’s interest and involvement in local Los Alamos, New Mexico, historical societies. Georgia owns a historical tour company there, Buffalo Tours, which specializes in tours of the ‘Atomic City’ — where the government conducted the Manhattan Project nuclear research and testing in the 1940s.
Georgia and Gerry were both delighted at the discovery of their 1976 time capsule, and said they had been acquaintances with Cindy since she bought their house. Shortly after Cindy found the time capsule, they saw her around town, and she mentioned the discovery. Alas, the trio’s busy schedules kept them from connecting to view it before it needed to go back in the bathroom wall.
Georgia didn’t remember what she had put into the time capsule, so I described the items to her over the phone. She recalled pulling it together in a hurry — they had removed a bathroom heater that they were no longer using and — being the history buffs they are — decided to throw together a quick time capsule to stick in the wall cavity before closing up the hole. Georgia said she just ran around the house, scooping up coupons, match books and other odds and ends she had laying around… penned a quick note… sealed it up in the jar… and stuck it in the wall.
The house had not changed hands many times since it was built in the early 1950s, she said. Prior to the 1960s, the government owned all of Los Alamos. Georgia and Gerry bought the house from its first non-government owner.
Cindy also added her own, second time capsule to the bathroom wall cavity. Just like the Strickfadens years before her, she hurried to get her time capsule into the wall before the contractors began closing it up again — so we have no photo. Cindy told us what her time capsule includes:
I put some newspaper ads and the banner of the same newspaper into my time capsule. I also put in a USB memory stick with a lot of pictures of the house and the neighborhood, a printed photo of the bathroom before we started, and a “selfie” of me and my dog — because what could be more 2014 than a “selfie”? The adorably cute dog is Nellie.
You’re right Cindy, nothing quite says 2014 like a selfie of you and your adorable dog!
Mega thanks to Cindy, Nellie, and Georgia and Gerry Strickfaden for letting us share this bit of history with the Retro Renovation community.
Charlie Wohlrab says
Great Find, both the “time capsule” and this web site. I am in the process of renovating my bathroom and I have these strange accessories which I didn’t want to discard, even though they are not period to when my house was built (1913). I have been “restoring” them and it appears they are Hall-Macke Conceal-all, which is how I found this web-site. Does anyone know where I can get a Hall Mack catalog with the “Relaxation Station” or just the page for the “Relaxtion Station”?
By the way my bathroom was also re-done in 1976, no time capsule, the owner just signed and dated the wall under the wall paper
pam kueber says
Charlie, we have several stories on these Hall-Mack accessories — just type Hall-Mack into our search box, they should come right up. Use that Search box if you have any questions — it works really well. Use the categories as well — all our research is organized in categories.
Ronda says
I grew up in Los Alamos. What a surprise to see The Los Alamos Monitor’s headline on the front cover of Retrorenovation.
Thanks Cindy for sharing. Los Alamos was a great place to grow up.
I remember it as it was before the Great Fire of 2005.
Cindy says
Yes, seeing that picture on the Monitor page made me very sad. The mountain had trees and the County Building was standing proud by Ashley Pond.
Ronda says
We moved to Bend, Oregon in 1995 then to John Day same state in 2005. It was so sad to watch on TV read about the fire in the news. My home where my folks brought me home on 46th st is gone as well as the quad we lived in on Alabama st. But in my minds eye its still the same. I have never gone back as I want to remember what once was.
I do miss New Mexico sunsets and the Jemez.
Eileen says
I occasionally find items as I renovate. I recently came upon an old 1945 Salvation Army donation slip from one of the original owners of the house, even though the house wasn’t built until 1959. It was in a set of cabinets that are in an outside storage room. I’m guessing that they are old kitchen cabinets, maybe from a previous home, that they installed in the garden and workshop rooms.
My house was unoccupied for about ten years before it was bought and semi-flipped and I bought it. Before me they broke into a safe that was built into the house. I don’t think they found anything there. After living in the house a few months, I discovered another safe built into the house and still locked up. I haven’t broken into it yet but I often wonder if I will find any hidden treasure!
I most love finding out about the history of the people who lived here and had the house built!
Miya says
I am dying to know what’s in Eileens safe!
Reenie says
How kewel!!!
midmichigan says
Really, really cool post. Sheesh, old memories! Littering education campaign was in full swing. The Bi-Centennial year was pretty fun. Massive 4th of July celebrations; automakers had 1776-1976 commemorative models; clothing, décor, kitschy stuff all over was Bi-Centennial, red, white and blue. I was working as a bartender during the time of the 4th’s weekend festivities back then and was outfitted in red, white and blue everything, even down to red, white and blue saddle shoes. I even got to meet and shake hands with President Ford on his campaign’s “whistle-stop tour”. There were many homes that had their garage doors painted red, white and blue along with other regalia as well. It would be fun if more folks planted a time capsule of sort in their homes.
Linda says
I was working at a family-owned fabric store the summer of ’76 (also the year I graduated high school, so of course we had a red, white, and blue yearbook!) and all the staff was encouraged to make “colonial” dresses. We were permitted to purchase the pattern and fabric at a very deep discount for it. I recently saw the pattern on ebay and was tempted to buy it, lol. The dresses were a big hit with the customers, and I think we were able to wear them for the month of July.
Sandra says
I’m just glad they weren’t Mr. & Mrs. Smith! It would have been harder to track them down.
Jenny A. says
What a neat story! I’m going to do that if we ever need to open a wall. Thanks for sharing!
Rick S says
I have found “lost things” in walls and registers but not intentionally placed items.
I try to leave something with most of our projects. When we built a former home in 1987 we put a photo of the empty field before we broke ground and a during photo in a jelly jar. It was enclosed in a newel post of the front porch. We have also wrote our names and date on back of trim or cabinets.
rick
Janet in ME says
We haven’t found anything ourselves but Phil’s good friend and our eighth grade science teacher pulled up a floor in one of his rental properties and found that underneath it were dozens of newspapers from 1917 and 1918, which he gave to us. It was the time period when people were dropping like flies from the Spanish flu and reading the dozens of obituaries every single day was so sobering. I had no idea how serious an epidemic that was until I saw those newspapers. I don’t know if Ken ever read them, but one obit was for his grandmother, who left eight children. This was not really a time capsule, but was certainly a glimpse of the tragedy at the time.
Janet in ME says
I LOVE stories like this and we intend to do the same here and put a time capsule in the wall in our house when we redo our bathroom. So tell us, Cindy, did you also reveal who you voted for in the last election? What a riot!
Cindy says
I did put who I voted for in my note!