A secret time capsule was recently discovered under the floor boards of a historic dance hall in Tulsa. The capsule was filled with some very cool music memorabilia, including vinyl records, Elvis playing cards, and unused Rolling Stones concert tickets. But it was opened a little prematurely. Which is totally fine, and happens to a lot of guys, I’m told.
Time capsule recently discovered underneath the floorboards of the Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma (Photo by Hunter Rodgers)
I spoke with the creator of the time capsule, Eric Keck, over Facebook Messenger. When Keck, who works at a feed lot, heard Cain’s Ballroom was refurbishing the floor back in 2007, he actually paid a member of the construction crew $100 to let him bury it.
“The absolute hardest part of a time capsule is putting it where you know it will be found,” Keck told me. But apparently his time capsule was a bit too easy to find. Strangely, nobody found the map he hid in the building, which was supposed to lead future treasure hunters to the prize one day.
The time capsule being cut open at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma (Photo by Hunter Rodgers)
The capsule was filled with Johnny Cash vinyl records, Bush’s “Sixteen Stone” on CD, a Lou Reed cassette, and an 8-track tape of the Beatles’ “Abbey Road”. There were also photos of bands like KISS and a copy of Reader’s Digest magazine featuring The Beatles. And a whoopee cushion for good luck, apparently.
Keck figured that the dance floor of the Cain’s Ballroom would be a safe place since it hadn’t been replaced for decades. He assumed he’d be long dead by the time it was dug up.
“I didn’t think it would be found for another 60 years!” Keck told me. “I was shocked they found it so soon.”
“I put it under the dance floor of the Cain’s Ballroom because the original floor had been there since 1942, so the guy I knew that worked there cleaning up after the shows let me crawl under the new floor when they were 4 feet from finishing it,” he added.
“I went in at two in the morning with a shovel and dug a hole,” said Keck.
Time capsule recently discovered underneath the floorboards of the Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma (Photo by Hunter Rodgers)
If you’re a regular reader of our time capsule coverage, you know that capsules which are opened “too early” are a sore spot for a lot of people. But sometimes you just can’t help it. The floor was replaced much sooner than anyone realised it would be.
Management at Cain’s Ballroom told me that they’re going to hold on to the time capsule in their storage space and don’t have any immediate plans to rebury it.
“My favourite items had to be the Rolling Stones tickets,” said Keck. But he didn’t ask for them back. The time capsule is property of Cain’s now.
Time capsule recently discovered underneath the floorboards of the Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma (Photo by Hunter Rodgers)
And even though Keck’s time capsule was discovered prematurely, he hasn’t given up on the concept. In fact, he has plans to maybe make something even more grand in the future.
“I think I want to build a million dollar time capsule. Put something in that in 100 years it will be worth a million dollars when it comes up,” he tells me.
What would that be?
“I’m working on that,” Keck said.
Time capsule recently discovered underneath the floorboards of the Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma (Photo by Hunter Rodgers)