Two projects at the Newton Recreation Center aim to preserve the area’s past for future generations.
Officials are asking residents of Newton and Ransom townships to send photos and information about living or deceased individuals who resided in either municipality to be featured in a presentation called “250 Faces.” It will include submitted photos and biographical information about each person, or “ambassador,” on monitors in the center’s main hallway.
Those featured in the “250 Faces” slideshow must have lived in either township, had great impact on an individual or others, and their actions must have shaped the community.
In the same hallway, officials plan to place a time capsule filled with items from this year, which will be opened 50 years from now, in 2076. A plaque will be placed on the wall outside the capsule.
Both initiatives are part of the center’s celebration of the 250th anniversary this July of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
Georgia Liberatori, treasurer of the center’s board, got the idea for the time capsule from her son, Ed Liberatori, who attended classes in the building when it was still a school. The idea for “250 Faces” was developed by a committee. Each township received a $1,000 grant from the Lackawanna County Arts and Culture Department in March for the “250 Faces” project.
Liberatori said the “250 Faces” project lets people who are newer to the area know about its history while honoring its past.
Members of a committee to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary in Newton and Ransom townships will decide what is placed in the time capsule, but anyone can suggest items for inclusion.
“We want input,” center employee Denise Miller said.
Georgia Liberatori, treasurer of the Newton Recreation Center board, and center employee Denise Miller walk to the spot where a time capsule will be placed in the center Thursday, May 28, 2026. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
Newton Recreation Center board treasurer Georgia Liberatori, left, and center employee Denise Miller stand at the spot where a time capsule will be placed Thursday, May 28, 2026. The time capsule and an exhibit of 250 faces of residents of Newton and Ransom townships will be at the center as part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
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Georgia Liberatori, treasurer of the Newton Recreation Center board, and center employee Denise Miller walk to the spot where a time capsule will be placed in the center Thursday, May 28, 2026. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
Officials said items for the time capsule are constrained by the box’s small size and whether they can stay preserved. So far, they plan to include letters written by students at Newton Ransom Elementary School to their future selves. Officials have reached out to the Lackawanna Historical Society and done research online to figure out what can go into the capsule.
“We don’t know 50 years from now if we put a USB thing in there are they going to be able to connect to a computer,” Liberatori said. “Crazy stuff that we don’t know what they’re going to do.”
She said the time capsule will let future generations know what life was like in Newton Twp. in 2026.
Anyone interested in nominating an individual to be featured in “250 Faces” can request a form by emailing NewtonRecCenter@gmail.com, stopping by the center for a submission form, calling the office at 570-586-7808 or scanning a QR code online. Officials hope to gather the nominations by June 30 and items for the time capsule by Sept. 1. The time capsule will be sealed during the center’s yearly Fall Festival on Sept. 19.
Liberatori and Bobbi Jo Klinkel, the center’s administrator, said they’re excited for a younger generation to open the capsule to find items their relatives used.
“Future generations will see what contributed to the community, how it was built,” Liberatori said. “We would like the younger people to understand that the town has a rich human history and that they’re now part of that continuing story.”
Center officials hope the “250 Faces” project contributes to the center’s mission as a place where people can get information, and discover people who formed the community as it is today.
“I think it gives the community an opportunity to put a face to somebody that they thought was important to starting the community,” Klinkel said. “My hope is that younger generations like my kid, who’s 13, will be able to access all this stuff and be able to pull something from it that is going to inspire her to do something good in the community.”