Building My Bridge to 2076
On December 3, 2026, I’ll seal a Century Safe containing letters, photos, stories and artifacts from my family to be opened fifty years later in 2076.
This series documents the entire nine-month journey from vision to gathering to curation to the closing ceremony in real time. I’m following the Century Safe Method I developed while researching Annie Diehm, a Civil War widow who sealed a safe in 1879 that sat all but forgotten for decades, but was opened by President Gerald Ford in 1976, just as Annie had planned.
Annie built a bridge from 1876 to 1976. Now it’s my turn.
What readers are saying
Gobsmacked. What a weave of time and person and place is this layering of Annie and Lori. A joy to watch this unfolding ~ AF
This is an amazing gift of history you have shared with us all, and I am so excited to follow your own “century safe” journey. It's made me think about what I’d put in my own! ~ LM
Lori, this just feels so you, thoughtful, generous, and quietly ambitious in the best way. I love how Lori is balancing structure with heart, making it meaningful without making it heavy for everyone else. The care that she is putting into both the big picture and the smallest details (the Beanie Baby, the handwritten letters, even the water bottle!) is what’s going to make this come alive in 2076.
But what really stands out is the intention behind it all, Lori is not just preserving information, she is creating an experience for people she will never meet, and that’s something very few people actually follow through on. It’s a beautiful act of faith in the future, and a compelling model for anyone considering how best to preserve their own family’s past for generations yet to come. ~ PC
“I always knew I’d create my own Century Safe. But standing there reading those inscriptions, seeing the physical proof that bridges across time can actually hold – something shifted. It wasn’t theoretical anymore. It wasn’t just another story I was researching. It was a decision.”
“So, why am I doing this? And why am I doing it now? The “now” is easy. Annie inspired me. Annie inspires me. I’m still actively researching her, the safe she created, and other parts of her life and legacy. But the more I learn about her deep and abiding desire to preserve and honor the present for the future, the more I want to do the same.”
“Even in my wildest, most ambitious imaginings, the launch of my Century Safe couldn’t compete with Annie’s launch. Throw in Life and, well, things got complicated.”
I’d rather have one contribution joyfully done than six done under duress or duty and sandwiched in between other more pressing and real responsibilities.
I’m settling into the reality that this Century Safe thing isn’t one of my normal projects. It likes the quiet. It begs me to just sit with it sometimes - not planning or jotting notes or making it bigger than it is, just sitting. That’s a strange feeling, a strange forward progress.