West Babylon Goes Back In Time, Opens 30-Year-Old Time Capsule

WEST BABYLON, NY — West Babylon Junior High School cracked open a 30-year-old time capsule on Thursday morning in a multi-generational ceremony reflecting on service, history, and what it means to be a member of the West Babylon community.

The capsule was buried in 1995 by then–principal Michael J. Rizzo, a West Babylon alumnus, Marine, and Purple Heart recipient. It was originally intended to be opened in 2020, but the pandemic delayed the moment by five years. When students and staff finally gathered in the school auditorium, the theme centered overwhelmingly on legacy.

“Today, we stand not only as witnesses to history, but as participants in the legacy that has continued to shape this school, this community, and the countless lives that have passed through its halls,” Principal Dr. Carlos Falcón told the students.

Opening the Capsule: Beepers, Pogs and the New York Times

Students watched a video of the time capsule excavation, which custodians unearthed earlier in the day, before seeing its contents unveiled live on stage. Adults carried bags of items to the front, revealing a cross-section of 1990s school life, including:

• A Motorola cellphone
• A beeper, which Falcón used to explain how teens once sent number-based messages: “07734 — when you flipped it around, it would say hello.”
• Colorful Pogs
• Bulky student organizers
• A 1995 yearbook, in black and white
• An old calculator
• A dictionary from 1969
• A 1995 New York Times, featuring Knicks coach Pat Riley’s resignation
• Handwritten cursive assignments and typed letters from the class of 1995
• A flyer advertising the original time capsule ceremony

All items will be displayed in the gymnasium for students to explore throughout the day.

Preparing the 2050 Capsule

Superintendent Dr. Yiendhy Farrelly said the new time capsule will reflect West Babylon’s updated portrait of a graduate.

“As we look forward, we have prepared a very new time capsule to be opened in 2050,” she said. “This new capsule will hold reminders of who we are today and what we stand for — a generation shaped by innovation and global awareness.”

As students began drafting letters and selecting items for the next capsule, eighth graders reflected on how quickly technology had changed since 1995.

“Our type of phones and our technology, because we have way different technology than they did,” said eighth grader Adriana Chavez.

Classmate Brody Eglin said he hopes students in 2050 are just as surprised as this year’s eighth graders were.

“Just like how we thought the modern technology from the ’90s is very standard for us, I think our modern technology is going to seem standard for future generations,” he said. “And it’s going to allow them to see the journey that humanity has gone on.”

A Principal’s Legacy

As part of the ceremony, Falcón read from Rizzo’s 1995 letter addressed to “the principal and assistant principal in the year 2020,” describing the purpose behind the project: “This time capsule is part of a culminating activity in conjunction with our newly introduced thematic curriculum,” Rizzo wrote on May 24, 1995. “Our two main objectives are to provide you with some memorabilia that represents our school — your school — and to share with you some of our thoughts at this particular time.”

Rizzo, who died on December 15, 2022, at age 75, retired from the district in 2010. A Marine veteran who survived catastrophic injuries in Vietnam, he earned the Purple Heart — one of the nation’s most solemn military honors, awarded not for what a service member does, but for what they endure.

In attendance Thursday was his younger brother, Steve Rizzo, who shared how Michael went from West Babylon Eagle to Marine, to severely wounded veteran, to educator and district leader.

“He was 100 percent disabled as a result of the Vietnam War,” Steve said. “They sent medical records throughout the country and parts of the world to help him survive, but it all came back negative. As far as they know to this day, he was the only man in medical history who ever survived that kind of wound.”

With the help of his wife, Joan, Michael went to college at just over 100 lbs., graduated with honors, and returned to West Babylon as a teacher before moving up through the administrative ranks.

A Community Remembers

The ceremony also welcomed former superintendents Mel Noble and Dr. Robert “Bob” Manley, who reflected on the school’s culture and long-standing commitment to service and excellence.

Manley, who served West Babylon for three decades, highlighted the sweeping initiatives that shaped the district — from a Russian–American student exchange program around the fall of the Berlin Wall, to the founding of the West Babylon Alumni Foundation in 1997, which he said has awarded “almost a million dollars in scholarships” to support students pursuing college, community college, and vocational programs.

Looking Ahead

Before dismissing students, Falcón reminded them that they now become part of the story: “Think about the legacy that has been spoken about today,” he said. “Think about the legacy that you want to leave behind for yourself and for future generations.”