What Now? Annie Deihm and the Century Safe
Somewhere in my research process, I decided to build my own time capsule to 2076
Release Date: March 17, 2026
What now?
Annie Diehm’s story is complete. We know how she built her Century Safe, how the Senate rejected it, how it was all but forgotten for decades, and how Emma Sutton kept the key for sixty years until Thomas Watts brought it forward in 1971 so President Gerald Ford could open it in 1976, just as Annie had planned.
You can download and read the entire story here as an easy-to-read PDF.
But there’s more to this story than what happened between 1876 and 1976.
There’s what’s happening now.
I’m building my own Century Safe
Several weeks ago I was invited by the Architect of the Capitol to come and talk to them about Annie and her Century Safe, to share my research with them, and to see the safe and some of the items Annie had secured in it back in 1879.
I’d been thinking about creating a Century Safe of my own for a while, but couldn’t commit. I worried about the time commitment, the emotional journey, the ROI, the what-ifs.
But standing in front of Annie’s safe, all that seemed silly. Irrelevant. Unnecessary.
Her bridge held and mine will too. Or it won’t.
But I’ll build it anyway.
Not to replicate Annie’s. Not to prove anything. But because Annie’s story taught me something I can’t ignore: we don’t know who will remember us, we don’t know what will survive, we don’t know if the bridges we build will hold.
But we can build them anyway.
Annie built her bridge to 1976. Emma made sure the rest of us could walk across it.
Now I’m building mine to 2076.
Building My Bridge to 2076
Starting March 19, I’m launching a new series to document my journey to a Century Safe for my descendants to open in 2076.
You’ll watch me:
Write my vision statement (why I’m really doing this)
Invite my family to participate (and deal with who says yes and who aren’t quite as excited as I’d hoped)
Find my bridge keeper (or try to - I don’t know who it will be yet)
Make impossible decisions about what to include
Choose my container and materials
Plan the ceremony
Seal it on December 31, 2026 and hope it makes it to 2976
I’ll share Annie’s actual words from the documents I’ve transcribed - her process, her struggles, her hopes - alongside my own.
I’ll interview preservation experts about what actually works for long-term survival.
I’ll make mistakes and course-correct.
I’ll feel the same fears and anxieties Annie likely felt: What if no one cares? What if it’s lost? What if I’m asking too much?
And I’ll trust the process anyway, because Annie showed me it’s worth trying even when you can’t guarantee the outcome.
How to Follow Along
Building My Bridge to 2076 🇺🇸 will be published every other Thursday morning as part of The Lost & Found Story Box. You’ll find the link to the archives in the navigation bar.
The Lost & Found Story Box will continue with historical stories like Annie’s - recovering forgotten people, investigating mysteries, telling stories that deserve to be remembered. If you’re a subscriber, it will show up every Tuesday in your inbox.
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An invitation to join me
Annie’s Century Safe was both the first of its kind and the only of its kind.
My Century Safe will follow the tradition she set, but updated for today. There will be physical objects and digital backups, and it’s my hope that my Century Safe will be just one of hundred, thousands even, created today to be opened in 2076.
My hope is that YOU will join me.
Whether you create a Century Safe for yourself and your family or for your community, business or organization, consider this my invitation to you. You can do this. WE can do this. We can create an amazing record of 2026 for 2076 - Annie showed us how.
See you March 19 at Building My Bridge to 2076.
The first Episode of Building My Bridge to 2076 drops Thursday, March 19. In it, I share the moment creating my Century Safe went from an idea to a decision. I hope you’ll join me.
Until them, I’ll leave you with a question that has been ricocheting around my head for the last six months:
What are you doing to preserve the history you’re living today for future generations? And what can you do now to be a better ancestor for your descendants?
— Lori
Copyright 2026 Lori Olson White
The Century Safe Method teaches you Annie Deihm’s pioneering approach, refined with 150 years of hindsight and adapted for family-scale projects today and into the future
This isn’t a vague “make a time capsule” guide. This is a complete methodology for creating a Century Safe that:
Actually gets opened (most time capsules don’t)
Engages future recipients (not just passive viewing)
Survives decades of moves, transitions, and forgotten promises
Creates traditions that continue for generations
Your bridge to 2076 is waiting.
In 2076, someone will open what you’re creating.
They’ll read your letters. See your photos. Discover the “Five Things” about you that no historical record captured. Read your Good Ancestor statement and understand what you wanted to be remembered for.
They’ll sign the signature page beneath your name, answering the questions you posed across fifty years. They’ll feel connected to someone they never met but who thought about them anyway.
And maybe - just maybe - they’ll decide to build a Century Safe for 2126, continuing the chain you started.
That’s legacy. That’s bridge building. And it’s possible.
Get your copy of The Century Safe Method today.
Recently I was invited to join Robin Stewart and the GenClub Panel to talk about Annie Deihm and her Century Safe. It was a fabulous conversation and a great format for in-depth discussions and questions.
It’s always fun to sit down with Barbara at Projectkin, and recently I had the chance to share some of what I’ve learned about time capsules with her and the Projectkin community.
The Story Catalog is not an archive in the usual sense. What you’ll find here is a living catalog of Lost & Found Stories – deeply researched historical narratives told in parts, discovered through newspapers, letters, court records, logs, and the stubborn human habit of leaving traces behind.
Have you read the incredible true story of Aimee Henry and Mary Martha Parker? Call Me a Bastard is my longest serialized story to-date, and the one that started it all here on the Lost & Found Story Box. Check out the story from the beginning.
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An ambitious project. Looking to see how you curate it!
Another fun project! Let’s goooo!