Construction workers at Beverly Hills High School (BHHS) have uncovered a 1939 time capsule while working on the Grand Lawn project at the school. The capsule was placed beneath a stone engraved “Knights Bench.”
The discovery began when crews noticed glass embedded beneath the soil near the flagpole. After a careful excavation, a mason jar was revealed. Inside the jar was an original 1939 edition of Beverly Highlights, the student-run BHHS newspaper, and a typed dedication letter, each documenting the meaning and significance of the Knights Bench.
The newspaper article noted: “Also new item to the Knights organization and a surprise to many was the new Knights Bench forming a semi-circle about the flagpole. This bench was kindly donated to the organization by Mr. W. S. McGilvray, father of Morgan McGilvray, one of the members.”
The dedication letter read, “In appreciation of the ideals of the Knights and for the furthering of their purposes in creating a standard of achievement among the Student Body, this bench has been given to the Knights by Mr. W. S. McGilvray in the month of June, 1939. It is being dedicated on this day, June 14, 1939, in the presence of the present Knight membership, under the supervision of the faculty sponsors, and before the assembled Student Body.”
Further research led to the 1939 BHHS Watchtower yearbook, which described the Knights as a highly selective student organization. According to the yearbook, “It is the goal of every high school boy to become a Knight, because membership means that he has achieved the highest honor in the school, that he has been chosen for dependability, for outstanding sportsmanship, for service, for scholastic attainments, and for citizenship throughout his school career.”
Over many decades of lawn growth, renovations, and resurfacing, the stone gradually became covered, and the mason jar remained sealed and unseen until now. “This discovery reminds us that Beverly Hills High School is more than a campus. It is a story carried forward by each generation,” said Superintendent Dr. Alex Cherniss.
The mason jar, newspaper, and letter are being preserved, not restored or altered, to maintain their original character. The Knights Bench stone will also be preserved and displayed as part of the restored Grand Lawn.
To continue this legacy, BHHS ASB students will begin to create a new 2025 time capsule, to be placed beneath the completed Grand Lawn for future Normans to uncover.
