Credit: Sean Smith, Howard Wise/JPI

An emotional time was had by all… see for yourself.

As Young & Restless turns fabulous fifty, the celebrations continued on the CBS studios lot as stars gathered for a very special unveiling. It was an emotional time as can be seen in the clip shared by none other than Lauralee Bell, daughter of the daytime drama’s late co-creators, Bill and Lee Phillip Bell.

The occasion was the digging up — and opening — of a Young & Restless time capsule buried on the soap’s 25th anniversary — you guessed it and/or did the math — 25 years ago!

Bell told her followers, “Today #YR’s love from 25 years ago was dug up in our time capsule! So fun to have some of the cast around to open it and see the first script, Y&R books, cast photos over the years and many other things.”

Among those other things was something incredibly precious to the Young & Restless family: “A sweet message from Jeanne [Cooper].” The beloved actress, of course, played Katherine Chancellor and passed away not long after the show’s 40th anniversary, in May 2013, after a battle with COPD.
Jeanne Cooper katherine yr champagne bl

We’re certain it was an emotional time for all of those present, which included Eric Braeden (Victor), Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki), and Kate Linder (Esther), who donned her former maid’s uniform and took up her feather duster to clean off the time capsule before the big moment.

Bell, of course, would have been particularly moved, as among the buried treasure were “some words that my dad spoke 25 years ago saying how this is all possible because of the team we make… cast, crew, fans!” Ain’t it the truth!

Castmates and former castmates who weren’t on hand, chimed in, in the comment section. Tracey Bregman (Lauren) was “so bummed” to have missed it, and Scott Reeves, who played Ryan McNeil exclaimed, “Wow!!! I vividly remember being there the day it was buried!! So cool!”

You can share in the special event by watching the clip below:

As Young & Restless celebrates, join in by admiring the stars’ 50th anniversary portraits in the photo gallery below.