Hanford time capsule brings 1976 memories to life, how to see the artifacts
- Last updated: August 16, 2026 | 10:01
When Rob Bentley went through the artifacts of the recently unearthed Hanford’s 1976 time capsule, he found a very close personal connection in one of the envelopes sealed inside. It took him back to his childhood memories of his parents’ love for dancing.
“I saw the envelope that said Jolly Bunch on it, and right away I was, OK, I got to see this,” said Bentley, president of the Carnegie Museum of Kings County in Hanford.
In 1976, Hanford’s bicentennial committee collected artifacts for the creation of a time capsule as part of its efforts to celebrate the nation’s 200th anniversary. The capsule, 2 feet in diameter and 4 foot long, was buried in front of the Hanford Police Department, which was nearly completed at the time.
The capsule contained around 100 artifacts, including pictures, brochures, letters, cassette tapes and proclamations. The bicentennial committee left directions for the time capsule to be opened 50 years later, on this year’s Fourth of July, for the 250th anniversary of the United States. But city officials did not unearth and open it until July 9.
The curators of the Carnegie Museum of Kings County approached the city, and the contents are now on display for a limited time in the downtown Hanford building.
While the capsule had a list of different clubs and organisations, Bentley said, he was very familiar with the Jolly Bunch club growing up because “it was a dance club, and both of my parents enjoyed dancing.”
Bentley said he had no idea his parents, Bob and Martha, were as involved as one of the documents showed. It listed all the Jolly Bunch members, and had his parents’ names were under one of the group’s committees.
“To me, just hit home that they would have a list of all of the members of the club and how they enjoyed hanging out,” Bentley said. “I just knew my parents went all the time and danced. I had no idea it was this big of a deal.“
“These were adults that I knew growing up,” said Bentley, who was 10 years old when the capsule was buried. His parents, who were in their 40s back then, died a few years back, and the club no longer exists.
The Hanford 1976 Bicentennial Time Capsule display runs through Saturday as part of the city’s 135th anniversary celebration of the city’s birthday this week. The museum will be open from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday and Saturday. “There’s lots of different artifacts here. I think what I enjoy the most is seeing people’s faces and how excited they were to participate,” Bentley said.
He said the capsule had eight cassette tapes – recordings of City Council meeting, local radio stations and more – that were digitized for people to listen to the original recording in an MP3 player. The exhibit also features other artifacts, including newspapers, community club catalogs and restaurant menus. Included is a 1975 YMCA cookbook of submitted recipes and a menu from the gourmet restaurant Imperial Dynasty, signed by chef Richard Wing, who pioneered early French Chinese fusion cuisine.
The restaurant was founded in 1883 in Hanford’s Chinatown, and was run by the Wing family for four generations. It started as a noodle house in the 19th century and evolved into a world-class culinary destination. The restaurant drew international travelers, politicians and celebrities like Walt Disney and Big Cosby despite its rural San Joaquin Valley location. It closed in early 2006 due to declining health of the owner Richard Wing, who died in 2010 at the age of 89.
The exhibit has brought many memories for community members like Lynette Bowers.
Bowers, who was born and raised in Hanford and now lives in Goleta near Santa Barbara, said it was fun to come back to the Carnegie Museum for the exhibit with her grandchildren and go down memory lane. “I was a senior in high school in 1976, and so I have vivid memories of celebrating the nation’s 200th bicentennial,” said Bowers. “And that’s my yearbook, The Janus of 1976.”
She still has her senior yearbook for Hanford High School, which back then was the only high school in town. Her senior year was when the school district tore down the old building. Now the city has two more high schools, Hanford West and Sierra Pacific.
“It was sad to watch them knock it down,” Bowers said.
After the exhibit ends, Bentley said the 1976 artifacts will be resealed in the original time capsule and stored by the city. He said the city is building a new public safety building at the corner of Seventh and Harris Streets, and a new time capsule will be constructed with contents from 2026, to be opened in 50 years.
Tribune News Service