Nebraska, a state found in the Great Plains, where corn fields flood the land and deer graze in the woods. Deep in the veins of the heart of the U.S. holds the world’s largest time capsule. According to Roadside America, the time capsule was built by a senior citizen, Harold Davisson, who placed the time capsule right in front of his furniture store in Seward, Nebraska. He was a man who had an idea for the future. His daughter, Trish Johnson, said that Davisson was thinking about his grandchildren, and wanted them to remember him in some way. He believed the only way to pass on his legacy was to have various objects that could be held and used rather than just books. He wanted to be recognized through the nation, so on the 4th of July in 1975, the time capsule was made.
Roadside America also states that after the time capsule was buried in 1975, the Guinness Book of World records came into the picture in 1977 stating that Davisson’s time capsule was the largest in the world. An outrage occurred when a university in Atlanta, Georgia heard about Davisson’s time capsule. They argued that their time capsule built in 1940 was bigger. Guinness decided to drop Davisson after investigating. However Davisson wanted his title back and built onto his time capsule making another on top of the first one in 1983.
The only one who knew about this was his daughter, who knows the most about the time capsule. According to Fox42kptm, Trish Johnson works at the furniture store known as Davisson Furniture. She is also known as the keeper of the crypt, since she watches over the time capsule. She explains she wanted nothing to do with the time capsule until she noticed how much of a tourist site it had become. She states that people come from all around the world to look at the pyramid and check out the scenery of the time capsule. She listed some items that are in the time capsule: a teal blue men’s leisure shirt, aged beer, coins, stamps, cars, and much more. She said her father’s original plan was to hold three cars in the time capsule, three from each different car dealer in the city; however the majority of the car dealers wouldn’t cooperate. This left Davisson with one car dealer who agreed to it, allowing Davisson to bury two cars and a motorcycle. She finds it funny that there will be fines against the time capsule for parking tickets and expired licenses. Johnson estimates the time capsule to be opened 50 years after its burial, in 2025 unless it’s decided that it will be opened in 2075 depending if some items are in good condition.
After interviewing a couple of teachers at Lincoln Northeast High School, all were oblivious to the topic. History teacher, Nate Geiken, was not aware of the time capsule but became very intrigued after being informed about the topic. He states it is exciting and he’s happy to hear about it since he loves history. Geiken says that if he had known about it back then, he would have thought Davisson Davisson as a crazy man. English teacher, Tony Reda, says he had no knowledge of the time capsule, but after being informed about it, he became interested. He says he would have thought of the time capsule as a peculiar thing back in 1975. He believes there are posters, appliances, games, and other interesting stuff down there. History teacher, Leland Jacobs, also gave his view on the story. He states that he finds the time capsule to be very interesting, wondering how the things in there were buried and how they were preserved? He thinks the vehicles are worth a lot of money, especially since they are related to the time capsule, making them very special. When asked if he would go to the museum, Leland replies with “Heck yeah, I would go there. Besides, Seward isn’t much of a drive.” As time races to 2025, we will finally know what the time capsule holds. No matter what happens, Davisson’s legacy will be known through time.