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.
rebecca says
When I was about 13, we put a family room on the back of our house. It had a wood-burning fireplace and a wood mantel. Before the mantel was fully enclosed (I guess it was a hollow rectangular box rather than a solid piece of wood – kind of weird in hindsight…), my mom asked us to all get something representative of our selves and our lives at that time to put inside the mantel. I can’t remember what I put in there, but I would love to find out that someone discovered it! This was more than 25 years ago, so late 80s….
pam kueber says
Wonderful memory!
Mary Elizabeth says
Rebecca,
This is not at all unusual in fireplace mantel construction. My husband and I built one for a corner of the living room in our ranch house, which came without a fireplace. It is built of plywood and is essentially a decorative cabinet with three boxes. The upper part is hollow, the middle part has an opening for the gas log insert, and the lower part is also a box to contain the blower mechanism and electric connections.
I love your mom’s idea about putting the time capsule in the upper box. It gets rather warm, so I wouldn’t put anything flammable or wax candles in there. 🙂
rebecca says
Interesting. I didn’t know that. I don’t think we put anything like candles in there!
Miriam says
We built a house one time. We did most of it ourselves but when ever anybody came over to help in some way we had them sign a cut off board. We sealed it in a closet.
Karin says
What wonderful stories! We found an old hand drawn cartoon from the 1940s in the stairs of a house we renovated. A contractor told me a story about another contractor who renovated an attic and found a mint condition first edition Superman comic valued at one million dollars. He says he always checks the attic since he heard about this discovery.
pam kueber says
Wow!
Ed says
I think about stories like that, then I think about all the spiders crawling around and building webs in places where I have easy access to them. I don’t even want to think about all the webs that must populate the attic! I’ll leave Spiderman to the spiders and go work more overtime.
Douglas Camin @ House on Rynkus Hill says
What a cool find. I have little historical thinks spread through my house, and have found all sorts of random old stuff (once I found a cookie, probably from 1961, in the wall. Hmm.) but I haven’t found a full on time capsule.
Mary Elizabeth says
Douglas, since this was your grandparents’ house, chances are that it was your cookie or that of your parent. 🙂
James Cobalt says
This story put a big goofy grin on my face. Love it! Now I’m inspired to do this during our next remodel.
Joe Felice says
A “feel-good” story, for sure, as it brought back fond memories. 1976 was the nation’s bicentennial, and celebrations were frequent, but here in Colorado, it was also our centennial, so we had double the reason to party. And party we did. I was boogying my buns off. But the Universe played a cruel trick on us. On the very eve of Colorado Day, a state holiday back then, a flash flood roared through the Big-Thompson Canyon and the towns of Loveland and Lyons, wiping out a mile-wide swath and killing 139 people, plus one who was never located or accounted for. Many were tourists who had been camping long the river. Back then, we didn’t have Doppler radar and all the other technological goodies we have today to give advance warning. So, in 2013, when the same river flooded, no lives were lost, though property damage was severe. I know people don’t think of floods when they think of Colorado, but when big thunderstorms up-stream fill rivers, they rush out of the mountains and through the canyons with a fury that must be seen to be believed.
Nina462 says
I have found the house plans for my house in the basement. And I’ve found a turquoise & sterling silver piece of jewelry in the garden.
Anita says
When I was a kid, my folks had to “rechink” the log cabin we lived in. While we were pulling out the old, we found a newspaper dating from the construction of the house crumpled up with some chicken bones in it. Apparently, someone had fried chicken for lunch and crammed the garbage inbetween the logs. Nice.
Amy says
We haven’t done it, but what a great idea! Next project we’ll put something together – thanks for the idea!
Shambie says
Wonderful! My granddaughter and I need to put together a time capsule for the concrete block front steps of our little farmhouse before we close it in…