SUBMIT YOUR CLUES! – Are you a member of the Carlynton 1971 graduating class or do you know someone who is? Do you recognize anybody in this photo of the time capsule being slid into the cornerstone in 1969? Send your tips to: michale.herrmann@carlynton.k12.pa.us or call 412-429-2500, ext. 1102.
By Jamie Wiggan
Staff Writer
-Carlynton-
As part of the district’s 50-year celebration festivities planned for May 14, Carlynton students will open a time capsule secured within an exterior wall when the district’s high school building was being built in 1969.
Had it not been for the chance uncovering of photographs and instructions behind an electrical service panel during a contracting job about five years ago, the capsule may have remained hidden for many more years.
With no plans immediately emerging after the discovery, long-time biology teacher William Palonis thought the district’s 50-year anniversary would serve as a timely occasion for uncovering the capsule’s mystery contents.
Palonis approached senior class officers with the idea, and the students have since busied themselves planning the unveiling event and raising awareness among alumni and the broader community.
“A lot of people at the school didn’t know we had the time capsule,” said 2021 Class President Natali Lutsiv. “...and no one knows what’s in it.”
The final year of the 2021 senior class has been dominated by the turbulence and disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, but they say they’re looking to the unveiling event as a bright spot on the horizon. “In spite of Covid, and what it’s done for our senior year, [the time capsule] is very exciting and it’s the silver lining of Covid,” said Rodrigo Corral, 2021 class vice president.