Open house at Butterfield School features contents of 1976 time capsule

At least for a few hours Saturday, Butterfield School in Libertyville will belong to the disco era with '70s music playing and objects collected and buried a half century ago on display for alumni and community review.

Several hundred are expected from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday for an alumni and community open house to revisit classrooms, tour the school, view yearbooks by the decade and reconnect with friends.

“They just need an excuse to get together and reminisce,” said Principal Candice Kehoe.

About this time in 1976, a time capsule was buried and covered with a boulder fitted with a bronze plaque next to the flagpole in front of the school at 1441 Lake St.

It was the culmination of a class project for students in the eight grades that then attended Butterfield to honor the nation’s bicentennial. The plaque came with the message to open the capsule June 1, 2026.

“Every grade had an opportunity to put something in or make a suggestion on what to put in,” recalled Joe Wilson, then assistant principal. “The kids loved it and the teachers loved it.”

Because of the expected difficulty and unknown condition of the capsule — actually, a metal box painted red, white and blue — and its contents it was unearthed in advance of the open house.

What was in it? School and local newspapers, photos of all the students, a Sears catalog and a 12-inch ruler for starters. How and why a bicentennial beer can was included has been lost to history.

Water and time took its toll on some of the contents but there is enough to get a sense of the era.

Built in 1969 on the far west side of town, the school itself was a sign of the times featuring an open concept design, open hallways and few interior walls.

The idea was to develop self-direction by acquiring and mastering academic special skills, said Robin Kollman, director of communications for Libertyville District 70.

“It was a much different learning environment then,” recalled Kathleen O’Connor, Libertyville Township supervisor and secretary of the Butterfield student council at the time.

The capsule was a big deal but where they might be in 50 years didn’t cross her mind, she said.

“I think we all thought people would forget about it,” she said.

Classmate Michael “Ike” Reilly, musician, songwriter, founder and frontman of the long-running Ike Reilly Assassination, was student council president at the time.

“What I bet you find is nobody has an exact memory of what went into it,” he said of the capsule.

Like many in the bucolic small town, Wilson was born and raised in Libertyville and stayed, marrying his high school sweetheart. He’ll turn 80 in July and said he is the last administrator connected to Libertyville District 70 still alive since the capsule was buried.

“I've had many, many calls from old students,” said Wilson. “Some of these kids I haven't seen since then.”

A school assembly is planned Monday in the Butterfield gym to honor special guests. Students have been assigned content to collect, including trends and technology, for example, for a capsule to be opened in 2076.

“The main event will be creating a new time capsule,” Kehoe said.

The new capsule, purchased for the school as a gift by the Butterfield class of 2026, will be waterproof.