Longview woman opens bicentennial time capsule ahead of America’s 250th birthday

LONGVIEW, Texas (KLTV) - For the first time in 50 years, an East Texas woman shares a collection she gathered when she was only eight.

During the Bicentennial, Ruby Bellows -- now Ruby Hahne -- reached out across the country for a piece of each state’s celebration.

“This is dated July 25th, 1976,” Hahne said. “Dear sirs, I am nine years old and in the fourth grade. I was wondering what your state is doing for the bicentennial year, and would you please send me some souvenirs?”

That letter led to a time capsule.

Hahne asked all fifty states and U.S. territories for any memorabilia related to America’s 200th birthday.

“My mom saw somewhere in the newspaper that somebody else had done this and she thought I could do it too,” Hahne said.

Flags, records, newspapers, pens — you name it — they sent it.

Envelope by envelope, she checked off every state.

And for the past five decades, everything she collected remained untouched.

“I have never taken it out and looked at it,” Hahne said. “Not since it was put in the box when I was eight years old...”

But now, she’s sharing her piece of history.

Pieces of her collection showcase how drastically times have changed. 1976 newspapers from Orange County, California advertise new cars under $4,000 and four-bedroom homes with a pool around $100,000.

“Those cardboard boxes have been sitting in the garage for so long and I was like, ‘You know what? This is the year to open it,’” Hahne said. “I’m not gonna make it to the tricentennial even though I would really like to. That would put me at 108 years old, and I don’t think I’m gonna make that!”

She hopes to pass the collection on to her grandson one day for the Tricentennial — making her childhood part of his future.

“He might be the best one to pass it on to,” Hahne said. “That’ll be the year he turns fifty. He won’t be a kid; he won’t be like ‘Wow!’ He’ll be an older man by then; he’ll be my age. I guess that would be a way for me to live on.”

She said remembering America’s yesterday is important for its tomorrow.

“As time goes on, we forget the struggles, the things other people had to do, and this is just a big reminder,” Hahne said. “To live in a free country where everybody has equal rights and everybody can vote...those are gifts.”

Ruby said the collection has followed her across the country from California to Texas and has only been bothered once by a flood in the garage — but now she has waterproof tubs to prevent any trouble.