A contractor in Pueblo, Colorado thought it was going to be just another day of home remodeling when he spotted a forgotten time capsule tucked inside a basement wall he was working on. Mark Knecht says after he opened a dusty Mason jar left behind, he found a letter from a 12-year old boy, a photo of the boy and his family and some items from his collections, like a stamp from 1892 and an Indian Head penny.
Knecht told ABC News, "It was the coolest thing I've ever found. I've torn a lot of houses apart, but I've never found anything like this. I knew immediately that I had to find this guy." That guy turned out to be Billy Gilbert, now a 79 year old living in Sammamish, Washington near Seattle. Knecht tracked down Gilbert to return the jar in person which contained his letter that read, “This house was constructed in 1929. Our name is Gilbert. There are four of us. My sister is Janice. My name is Billy Gilbert. I am 12 years old and Janice is fourteen. This is the year 1949.” Gilbert also noted that the family had an Irish Setter, two kittens, and a bird. Gilbert was overwhelmed when Knecht delivered the time capsule left behind 67 years ago at his childhood home. Gilbert told ABC, "It brought back a flood of memories. I hadn't even remembered writing the letter." (Photos: Mark Knecht)
Gilbert added, "It was absolutely incredible, the man who found it was an amazing man. He could've thrown it away, but he spent a lot of time and effort trying to find me. It was an amazing day!" Knecht says it was a great experience for him as well since it's not every day you can find time capsules on the job.
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