An event 50 years in the making: Chamber hosting 1972 time capsule showcase

Fifty years ago the city of Graham wanted to provide a look into the past, placing a time capsule at Shawnee Park in 1972 to be opened in 2022. The capsule has been opened and the Graham Chamber of Commerce will be hosting an event this month showcasing the items of Graham’s past.

The chamber will be hosting a showcase of the time capsule items from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 30, at the Old Post Office Museum and Art Center, 510 Third St. in Graham. Everything within the time capsule was packaged in brown envelopes and was labeled with the contents. Graham Chamber of Commerce Manager Lisa Shook said the time capsule was unearthed without an event to make sure the items inside were still intact.

“We weren’t sure what kind of condition it would be in, so that’s why we dug it up and just removed it so we can check and make sure everything (was alright). Everything’s in great condition,” Shook said. “There’s 317 personal letters in there and I’m, right now, working through getting those to as many people as possible. The ones that we don’t know or can’t find heirs to, we’re going to post on Facebook, and hopefully in The Graham Leader as well once we get finished, so that maybe we can find the heirs to those people as well.”

During the event the chamber is planning Mayor Neal Blanton to speak and will have a number of items within the capsule on display at the OPOMAC, including the stainless steel box built at Lindsay Air Conditioning company by Bob Burnett May 10, 1972.

“It was sealed in an air conditioner box made by Lindsay Air, and then sealed in vault and made by Morrison’s Funeral Home. So we’ll bring the silver air conditioner box to the OPOMAC as well so people can see what everything was in,” Shook said.

In the 1972 Centennial Edition of The Graham Leader it encouraged area residents and neighboring area residents to submit letters for the time capsule. The 1972 Graham Chamber of Commerce Time Capsule Committee Chair, Ed Harris Jr., also urged presidents of civic and other clubs in the area and surrounding areas to write letters addressed to presidents of the organizations in 2022.

“I’ve already had some people pick them up,” Shook said. “So I am going through and calling anyone that I know, or I think is their family, and then the other ones will put a list out so that people can see if they know those people.”

Letters were required to be no longer than the standard size No. 10 envelope, or 4.125 by 9.2 inches, and not weigh more than one ounce. Multiple letters were allowed to be submitted, but must have each been accompanied by one dollar to offset the cost of the project. According to the 1972 edition, a sealed letter had to placed with an eight-cent stamp with the addressee and return address with the one dollar bill.

Of the many letters included within the time capsule, one is from 1972 Texas Gov. Preston Smith, who is addressing the current governor of the state Gov. Greg Abbott. The letter will be mailed from Graham to the capital building in Austin, according to the 1972 edition. Shook said the letters are currently being sent out by the chamber.

“The letters are going to be sent out now,” she said. “The items that are in the time capsule that we’re going to be displaying are artifacts from town. So things from the school district, things from Hexel, things from the city, so they don’t necessarily go to any one specific (person), they’ll stay (...) at the Old Post Office Museum for safekeeping.”

All the items are being held at Graham Police Department until the chamber is ready for the event at the end of the month. The items were sorted through and inventoried by Young County/Graham Historian Dorman Holub. Shook said those with questions regarding the items or letters can call the chamber office at 940-549-3355.

“If anybody has any questions or thinks that they have a letter that might possibly be in there, they’re welcome to call the chamber and I will go through and see if I can find it,” she said. “Everything else, like I said, will be displayed as old post office Museum.”