COCHECTON – A crowd gathered on Sunday afternoon to witness a once (maybe twice) in a lifetime experience: opening a time capsule.

The crowd eagerly awaited to see what memories were captured and what would be unearthed from a small metal tube that was buried in the former Cochecton Town Hall (now the Highway Department) in 1976.

Cochecton Town Historian Kristina Snedeker opened the time capsule but was only able to pull out a few photos. The documents and photos had been so tightly packed inside that, due to moisture, they expanded and couldn’t be extracted.

Snedeker later told the Democrat that more items were removed and include newspapers from 1976, Jamesway advertisements, broken town pencils and pens, a green bicentennial Sprite glass bottle, a bicentennial opened beer can, a bicentennial flag, and bicentennial coins.

The artifacts will be displayed at the fifth and last event of the Cochecton America 250 celebration at the Community Hall and ball field, 2 Newman Rd., Cochecton on August 30 at 1 p.m. Residents are also encouraged to bring items to put inside a time capsule that will be opened in another 50 years.