The Clear Creek Independent School District (CCSID) in League City, Texas, put out a call on their social media platforms earlier this month for anyone who went to school with Beverly Williams, Class of 1962.

She wasn’t coming up in the school system after numerous searches, which is when they made a public appeal for information.

“Within a matter of 24 hours, we received so many tips from genealogists, aspiring private investigators and concerned citizens, which ultimately led to us finding her and her family,” said Richard Lewis, vice president of the League City Historical Society.

It turns out she was using her middle name, with her first name Andrea, explaining why there was no information listed for a Beverly.

Sydney Hunt, senior communications specialist at CCSID, told Newsweek this was common at the time.

One of four sisters, Williams lost the purse when was around 13 years old. She went on to marry and have nine children, but passed away in 2015 in Washington, after moving to California when she left school.

Her family was able to be reunited with their late mom’s belongings last week, providing an incredible snapshot into the past.

“For the rest of her life, this is absolutely by far the smallest purse she’s ever carried,” said Rhonda Dohr, one of Williams’ daughters.

“I really wish she was here to see this. She would crack up at this.”

The family, including another two of Williams’ daughters, Andrea Sanchez and Deborah Hicks, were reunited with their mother’s belongings last week, with the contents on display at the local museum for a short period.

“It’s really a permanent marker to say ‘she was real,’ long before we grow up and get married and have kids, we’re kids ourselves,” Dohr said.

“We have thoughts, we have dreams, we have boyfriends, we go to dances. It’s a tangible way to say she was here, she was real.”

She added: “As a kid, you think your mom is Wonder Woman, but to hear other people say she was a good person is nice. It’s really nice. It’s kind of like a smile from heaven.”

Inside the purse, believed to have been misplaced in April 1959, were photos, calendars, invitations, a journal, a nail file and even a note from the girl’s mother, signed Mrs. Frank Williams.

“The purse was full of what looked like a wallet and it turned out to be a diary,” Lewis said.

He told Newsweek the purse was like “the Facebook of its day,” saying, “People put on Facebook what she put on her calendar, she had two invitations to a dance.

“Everything is the size of a wallet-sized picture. The invitations were that size, handwritten, to a Valentine’s dance and another dance two weeks later, and she would write on those.”

There were even baby photos from 1946 of Williams at 9 months old, along with photos of her and her siblings.

Other names that appeared in the contents included Walt Davis, Robert Charles Schleyer, and sisters Sharon, Linda and Lonnie.

Schleyer, still local, reminisced on his time at school with Williams, saying: “Beverly had real significance to me.

“I came from a crazy family. We became friends and from time to time, we spent time together. She was a life saver. The love, warmth, the kindness just exuded from her.”

Lewis told Newsweek his favorite item was the Civil Defense card, which carried information on what to do in the event of a nuclear attack.

Acknowledging it’s full of “a lot of unique stuff,” he said: “It’s an excellent time capsule, a buried time capsule, because it’s 63 years old or something.”

Born just a few weeks apart from Williams, he explained: “There’s that similarity, that card attracted my attention because that brought up memories of me.

“We both went through it at the same time, just exactly like active shooter training in school we had nuclear bomb training.”

Lewis said the purse was nearly destroyed. “That building was due to be torn down by a wrecking ball two weeks before the city contacted them and said it’s the only art deco building in town, we need a community center, can you lease it to us.”

“One of the daughter’s husbands voted to have that building saved, or turned into a community center. If not, his wife’s mom’s purse would have been under a pile of rubble.”

The purse was found by contractors working on the district’s oldest building, Clear Creek ISD, which is being turned into the League City Community Center.

It was underneath the stage of what used to be the gym.

“The League City School housed students from both before and after CCISD was consolidated in 1948,” the district said.

“Most recently, the building housed current League City Elementary students in 2018 while their new school was being constructed next door.

“The City of League City converted the old building into a new community center. During construction a purse was found beneath the stage.”

Schools underwent a shift in the 1950s with the enrollment of more students, as the National Center for Education Statistics reflected in 1993.

A report said: “The 1950s were a period of dynamic growth, with public school enrollment jumping by 44 percent. The enrollment increase was driven by the entry of the ‘baby boomers’ into elementary schools, as well as by the increase in the high school enrollment ratio of 14- to 17-year-olds.

“During the rush to accommodate the growing numbers of students during this period, school buildings were constructed in expanding suburban areas, and teacher demand rose dramatically.”

During the decade, the enrollment rate of 14- to 17-year-olds jumped from 83 percent to 90 percent.