Nueces County unearthed a time capsule that had been buried beneath the floor of the courthouse on Leopard Street since 1977, when the building first opened.
The opening brought together past and present county leaders to reflect on nearly 50 years of local history.
Kathy Wemer, chair of the Nueces County Historical Commission, said the moment captured something universal about the passage of time.
"All of us every day are living history and sometimes it takes a long time for it to wake up," Wemer said.
Former Nueces County Judge Richard Borchard, who served from 1981 to 2002, had placed a letter to himself and a Robstown yearbook inside the capsule nearly 50 years ago.
"Something words can't describe. You feel it but you can't describe it," Borchard said.
Borchard said he planned to read the letter later in the day.
"I don't remember what I wrote," Borchard chuckled.
Former Nueces County Judge Max Bennett also retrieved a personal item — a pipe he buried in 1977 — and announced his plans for it to cheers from the crowd.
"After this ceremony... we go outside, fire it up," he said.
Wemer praised Bennett's contributions to preserving local history.
"He has done so much to save our history in Nueces County, Max Bennett," Wemer said.
Other notable names from Nueces County's past, including former Nueces County Commissioner and Congressman Solomon Ortiz also returned for the occasion.
Among the items lifted from beneath the floor were the flag that flew over the 1914 Nueces County Courthouse, a yearbook from Ray High School, and a "Book of Etiquette." Nueces County commissioners gathered around the recovered items, marveling at what previous generations had left behind.
Nueces County will place a new time capsule in the ground, set to be unearthed in 2076.
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