{"id":410321,"date":"2026-07-24T03:20:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T03:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/410321\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T03:20:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T03:20:11","slug":"a-glimpse-of-1976-long-beach-unearths-50-year-old-time-capsule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/410321\/","title":{"rendered":"A glimpse of 1976: Long Beach unearths 50-year-old time capsule"},"content":{"rendered":"

A lot can change in 50 years. Landlines have fallen out of fashion, people can now find information with a click of a button and AI is in its experimental phase.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also been half a century since a collection of students, residents and Long Beach officials buried a time capsule to mark the United States\u2019 200th anniversary.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After recently unearthing the bicentennial time capsule, the City of Long Beach opened its contents Wednesday afternoon, with sixth graders from 1976, city officials and members of the Historical Society of Long Beach (HSLB) all gathering inside the City Hall Chambers.<\/p>\n

The time capsule was made following the Vietnam War, the Watergate break-in and the resignation of the president of the United States, according to HSLB President Julie Bartolotto.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA time capsule is more than a box; it\u2019s a message to the future. It\u2019s a seed you plant your hopes and dreams in,\u201d Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said during his opening remarks.<\/p>\n

\"\"Rex Richardson, Long Beach Mayor, discusses the changes from 1976 to today, such as the increase in women city council members, during the bicentennial time capsule opening on July 22, 2026. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

A copy of one of the letters in the time capsule happened to be lying in an old suitcase inside a closet.<\/p>\n

Former Bret Harte Elementary School student and teacher, Sharon Schreiber-Fisher, found the letter she wrote 50 years ago after her air conditioning unit stopped working a month ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband was emptying the closet so we could get to the attic and get the air conditioning repaired, and I was going through the suitcase and I found the letter and realized, \u2018Oh my gosh, 2026.\u2019 I wondered if something happened and it just kind of took off from there,\u201d the Long Beach native said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Inside that suitcase were what she called old treasures, such as remnants of lost teeth and archaic report cards.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was surprising at first, but then it really did make me pause and reflect on how has this affected me over the course of my lifetime. And it really did without me even knowing it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Schreiber-Fisher, alongside five of the participating sixth-grade students from 1976, read their adolescent letters and took a trip down memory lane.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She was the first 1976 student to read her letter to the audience. Schreiber-Fisher\u2019s essay depicted what life was like in her eyes when she was around 10 years old.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Former Bret Harte Elementary School student, Sharon Schreiber-Fisher, reads her sixth-grade letter out to the audience and discusses the impact of the letter continues to make as a teacher during the bicentennial time capsule opening on July 22, 2026. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many things to see in Long Beach. There are trees, grass and schools for children to learn in. There are many other things too. Some of the people are not too nice but everyone isn\u2019t the same,\u201d Schreiber-Fisher read, with some audience members chuckling.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The letter also talks about what the then-preteen predicted, such as good transportation and having a television that goes to any station a person wants. She also had out-there predictions in the letter, notably moving streets and water-powered televisions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe my teacher chose me because of this essay; I believe my teacher chose me because she knew I needed a win,\u201d Schreiber-Fisher said after reading her letter aloud.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe impact that this letter and this contest, winning, carried with me throughout my 34 years of working in the Long Beach Unified School District,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause, I became the person [who] was able to choose that student. That student who was the \u2018Cub of the Month\u2019 or \u2018Bear of the Week\u2019 \u2026 and I didn\u2019t always choose the popular choice. I chose the student that needed the win.\u201d<\/p>\n

By far the wildest predictions were from Russell Riopelle\u2019s letter. The former Los Cerritos Elementary School student read the first and last paragraph only, which laid out his predictions.<\/p>\n

\"\"Russell Riopelle, a former Los Cerritos Elementary School student, reads his letter to the audience and holds his hands up when discussing the riding escalator prediction he made in 1976 during the bicentennial time capsule opening on July 22, 2026. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

\u201cLong Beach, the year 2026. The gentle buzz in the skyway can be heard as you walk through Long Beach Boulevard. You call for a cab with what seems to be a small spaceship, [which] comes around a corner to a narrow track. Most young adults have never seen a car except in the museum; you decide not to take a cab and ride the escalator up to the skyway,\u201d Riopelle\u2019s first paragraph reads.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then it takes a funny twist.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cUFO\u2019s have been making contact with us for 10 years,\u201d he reads as the audience busts up laughing. \u201cAnd we have a special center and airport for the studies of UFO\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the letters inside the steel one foot by one foot box were unique items from the time period, such as a vial of crude oil, a bracelet for the mayor\u2019s wife and a City of Long Beach flag.<\/p>\n

\"\"Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson opens a case containing a bracelet for the mayor\u2019s wife as a gift during the bicentennial time capsule opening on July 22, 2026. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

While each letter had its quirks and wild forecasts of the next 50 years, they each had attributes in common.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The letters were optimistic, blunt and honest.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFollow your dreams, follow your passion, realize you got a good head start coming from Long Beach,\u201d Riopelle said to the future generation. \u201cThe world is your oyster, all sorts of information and opportunity here and [so] just chase it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bicentennial time capsule opening is part of the Seeds of Resilience campaign<\/a>, which invites residents to deepen their understanding of history that shaped Long Beach.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The series will conclude on Sept. 22 in Civic Center Plaza (411 W Ocean Blvd.) with Seeds of Resilience: The Story of Long Beach, where the community will come together, honor and witness the living people who have shaped Long Beach, according to Bartolotto.<\/p>\n

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