That pesky Globe paywall! Here's the specifics on the capsule items.
Massachusetts
Congressional capsule:
Clad half-dollar coin from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.
Letter signed by the Massachusetts delegation
“Whether through education, health care, or sports, Massachusetts leads the way,” Congressman Richard Neal said in a press release. “What better way to commemorate that than by celebrating the origins of one of the world’s most popular sports, when James Naismith first tossed a ball into a peach basket at Springfield College in 1891?”
America250 capsule:
Archival print depicting the Boston Massacre
Letters from John Hancock, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin
Medallion honoring Evacuation Day, the end of the siege on Boston in March 1776
Letters from Governor Maura Healey, Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, and the Massachusetts250 commission
New Hampshire
Congressional capsule:
Original 1819 piece of granite from the New Hampshire State House, embellished with the state’s seal
America250 capsule:
Picture of the flag emblem for the Second New Hampshire Regiment of the Continental Army
Brochure of celebratory events by the New Hampshire Historical Society with a timeline of revolutionary history
Schedule of events poster for July 4, 2026
Rhode Island
Congressional capsule:
Ornament depicting the 1776 Act of Renunciation, a break from England by the then-Colony that predated the Declaration of Independence by two months
America250 capsule:
Ornament of six soldiers in the First Rhode Island Regiment, created last year by the Rhode Island Secretary of State
Coin honoring the Rhode Island 250 commission’s honor flight initiative to bring veterans to Arlington National Cemetery and Washington, D.C.
Letter from the Rhode Island 250 commission
Maine
Congressional capsule:
Copy of classic children’s book “Blueberries for Sal”
Letters by Senators Angus King and Susan Collins, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, and Congressman Jared Golden
Challenge coin from Senator Collins
Three photos of the Maine delegation
Congresswoman Pingree paid tribute to “Blueberries for Sal” in her letter, calling Mainers “as resilient as wild blueberries.”
“We adapt to harsh, unforgiving environments and grow back collectively because, not in spite of, disruption,” she wrote.
America250 capsule:
Whale bone from a North Atlantic right whale, a critically endangered species found in New England
Woven bookmark from the Wabanaki Native American nations
Postcards displaying maps of Maine
Poem entitled “This Home We Carry,” by Maine’s poet laureate Julia Bouwsma, written and recited for Governor Janet Mills’s second inauguration
Letter from Governor Mills
Vermont
Congressional capsule:
Maps of local cheese and maple creemees (a soft-serve ice cream unique to Vermont)
Artistic piece called “Freedom and Unity: A Graphic Guide to Civics and Democracy in Vermont” by the Center for Cartoon Studies
Newsletters from Senators Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch and Representative Becca Balint
America250 capsule:
Ornament of Mount Independence, a key Revolutionary War defensive point
Ornament honoring the battle of Hubbardton in 1777, the only battle fought entirely on Vermont soil
Ornament of the Old Constitution House, where the first state constitution was adopted on July 8, 1777
Ornament of the Bennington Battle Monument, the state’s tallest man-made building
Your link to what Maine and NE states are doing for 250 celebration in DC is behind globe paywall. Can you copy and paste for us? Thank you.
https://substack.com/redirect/cec70bea-c884-4326-b8b5-458e4eb312c9?j=eyJ1IjoiaHVva3QifQ.YL9RADTKqlyBSYtA-EpuLPw5uqdEYvTpXQsCpjkHXg4
That pesky Globe paywall! Here's the specifics on the capsule items.
Massachusetts
Congressional capsule:
Clad half-dollar coin from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.
Letter signed by the Massachusetts delegation
“Whether through education, health care, or sports, Massachusetts leads the way,” Congressman Richard Neal said in a press release. “What better way to commemorate that than by celebrating the origins of one of the world’s most popular sports, when James Naismith first tossed a ball into a peach basket at Springfield College in 1891?”
America250 capsule:
Archival print depicting the Boston Massacre
Letters from John Hancock, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin
Medallion honoring Evacuation Day, the end of the siege on Boston in March 1776
Letters from Governor Maura Healey, Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, and the Massachusetts250 commission
New Hampshire
Congressional capsule:
Original 1819 piece of granite from the New Hampshire State House, embellished with the state’s seal
America250 capsule:
Picture of the flag emblem for the Second New Hampshire Regiment of the Continental Army
Brochure of celebratory events by the New Hampshire Historical Society with a timeline of revolutionary history
Schedule of events poster for July 4, 2026
Rhode Island
Congressional capsule:
Ornament depicting the 1776 Act of Renunciation, a break from England by the then-Colony that predated the Declaration of Independence by two months
America250 capsule:
Ornament of six soldiers in the First Rhode Island Regiment, created last year by the Rhode Island Secretary of State
Coin honoring the Rhode Island 250 commission’s honor flight initiative to bring veterans to Arlington National Cemetery and Washington, D.C.
Letter from the Rhode Island 250 commission
Maine
Congressional capsule:
Copy of classic children’s book “Blueberries for Sal”
Letters by Senators Angus King and Susan Collins, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, and Congressman Jared Golden
Challenge coin from Senator Collins
Three photos of the Maine delegation
Congresswoman Pingree paid tribute to “Blueberries for Sal” in her letter, calling Mainers “as resilient as wild blueberries.”
“We adapt to harsh, unforgiving environments and grow back collectively because, not in spite of, disruption,” she wrote.
America250 capsule:
Whale bone from a North Atlantic right whale, a critically endangered species found in New England
Woven bookmark from the Wabanaki Native American nations
Postcards displaying maps of Maine
Poem entitled “This Home We Carry,” by Maine’s poet laureate Julia Bouwsma, written and recited for Governor Janet Mills’s second inauguration
Letter from Governor Mills
Vermont
Congressional capsule:
Maps of local cheese and maple creemees (a soft-serve ice cream unique to Vermont)
Artistic piece called “Freedom and Unity: A Graphic Guide to Civics and Democracy in Vermont” by the Center for Cartoon Studies
Newsletters from Senators Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch and Representative Becca Balint
America250 capsule:
Ornament of Mount Independence, a key Revolutionary War defensive point
Ornament honoring the battle of Hubbardton in 1777, the only battle fought entirely on Vermont soil
Ornament of the Old Constitution House, where the first state constitution was adopted on July 8, 1777
Ornament of the Bennington Battle Monument, the state’s tallest man-made building