47-Year-Old Time Capsule Letters Discovered At Hermosa Middle School

A box of 47-year-old time capsule letters were uncovered at Hermosa Middle School in Farmington, New Mexico, revealing what eighth graders in 1967 thought about fashion, civil rights, and the Vietnam War, among other issues of the day.

Hannah Grover of The Daily Times detailed the findings in a recent piece for the news site, and also included a couple of scans of the collection, which was unearthed by Farmington librarian Lola Delaney.

Delaney is a fitting person to find the time capsule since she was around 14 when they were written.

Students at Hermosa Middle School have arranged all 31 time capsule letters in a binder, hoping that some of the original letter writers will come forward when the school honors the Class of 1967 at this year’s event to be held on May 19.

Two of the eighth grade organizers — Holly Woodside and Rachel Carlson — said they “learned a lot” from their fellow alumni.

One such tidbit of info that Carlson pointed out: “Cars back then only cost $2,000,” she said, pointing to an advertisement one of the boys included for a Corvette.

“They talk about the invention of the miniskirt a lot,” Carlson added.

One letter writer — Gene Bridgford — talked some about the Civil Rights movement, a period of American history that some today compare to LGBT.

“Negros are looked down upon in the southeastern states and demonstrations and riots are frequently heard of,” he wrote. “I am not against the Negro and I feel that the whites are wrong in looking down upon the Negro.”

Another letter writer, Debbie Boyd, touched on the Vietnam War: “This year the Viet Nam [sic] War is in full swing,” she stated. “Although we have not officially declared war, our boys are fighting to keep freedom alive. Freedom is a special thing and should not be taken for granted.”

A third — Dane McNeil — educated the current eighth graders on some of the music of the day:

“The Beatles were the top singing group for about three years and I don’t even know if you have ever heard of them,” he writes, adding that “The Rolling Stones, The Byrds, and The Yardbirds, had a really groovy sound.”

One particularly amusing thing for Woodside: “They still thought we would just be housewives,” she said, referring to an article included with the letters that detailed life in the 21st century.

(The article mentioned housewives making menus on computers and ordering food via computers.)

While these time capsule letters from students nearly half a century ago are pretty cool, they aren’t quite as old as this trove found in Oklahoma City dated back to 1913.

However, they do offer a unique and more relatable narrative for our current times.

If you had to write a time capsule letter to individuals 25 or 50 years in the future, what would you tell them?

[Image via ShutterStock]