Residents of a New Hampshire town were recently left baffled after the opening of a 50-year-old time capsule revealed that it contained… absolutely nothing.
The safe has been stored sealed at the Derry Public Library in New Hampshire, and before that, at a municipal building, since 1969, according to library director Cara Potter.
Town residents and officials had gathered on Saturday to open the time capsule, as part of nearby Londonderry’s Old Home Day celebration, as well as the library’s 50th anniversary.
It took a few tries to open the safe, but when officials finally unlocked the combination, they found that the time capsule was completely empty.
“We were a little horrified to find there was nothing in it,” Potter told WMUR-TV.
Officials are now investigating the mystery of the missing Derry time capsule contents.
Derry historian Paul Lindemann told the New Hampshire Union Leader there is no list for what would have been inside the time capsule.
Some town residents speculated, however, that the capsule might have included memorabilia from Alan Shepard, a Derry native and the first American astronaut to travel to space.
“There very well may have been valuable items in there,” Lindemann said.
According to the Union Leader, Lindemann said old news articles reported the capsule had been buried in MacGregor Park in Derry, on library grounds, but that, according to recent memory, it was being kept in the library’s locked research room.
Lindemann suspects the capsule might have been disinterred during library construction in 1989-1990, although it’s also possible the capsule was never buried.
Through the years, several people may have had the opportunity to steal the capsule’s contents, Lindemann said, as the library didn’t keep a log of who entered the room where the capsule was kept.
Oh, and also, the combination to the safe was written on the back.
“I really can’t understand why anyone would want to take the capsule and do anything with it,” Londonderry resident Reed Clark, 90, told the Union Leader.
A new time capsule for the town is scheduled to sealed on September 21 during the 30th annual Derryfest celebrations.
More on Geek.com:
- Rabid Bat Hiding in iPad Case Bites Man in New Hampshire
- Officer Attempts to Rescue ‘Kitten’, Finds a Bobcat Instead
- Watch: Winds Send Dozens of Mattresses Flying in Colorado
