Lake Braddock Secondary School - Lair Yearbook (Burke, VA)

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The summer of ’75 sported the newest styles as shown hy Gary Mahey: jeans, bare feet, and a tux. 364 Closing

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Nothing like a day outside with the ecology club to bolster Pat Breeden ' s spirits. Lieutenants Cheryl Shephard, Sharon Johnson, Lori Hopkins, and Debbie Howey cannot get over the size of the first place trophy the Intermediate Drill Team won at the Virginia State Drill Team Competition. “Let’s look at the men of the Continental Congress. Most of them were wealthy men, having large estates. These men, their families, and their fathers’ families worked hard to establish themselves. But when each one of these men signed his name to the Declaration of Independence, he was not only declaring his rights, he was also declaring his willingness to sacrifice his home, his property, his family, and even his life. They were willing to give up their materialistic gains in order to achieve a life of liberty. The last sentence of the Declaration of Independence says: ‘We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.’ “Have you heard the expression, ‘I don’t want to get involved?’ I recently read of an incident that illustrates this attitude so common today. Many people were riding on a bus when a gang of youths boarded it and began taking people’s wallets, purses, and watches. The robbers were eventually caught, but the majority of the victims refused even to claim their own possessions because they didn’t want to get involved.’ Tell me, what would happen if everyone in our country refused to get involved, or what would have happened to America if our forefathers had refused to get involved? Where would we be today? Accepting responsibility seems to me to be a vital ingredient for preserving the rights our forefathers established. We can see that 200 years ago the men who built this nation were willing to sacrifice their lives, their liberty, and their happiness that we have had for so long. A broken water main should have been worth at least a half day off of school, but Mr. Webber and the custodians had the cafeteria in shape before lunch. “What am I willing to sacrifice for the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Will my children have the same great heritage? “The Bicentennial does not mean to me the visiting of the White House or the Capitol, nor the selling or wearing of buttons that say ‘Happy Birthday, America!,’ but a time when we can look back and see what our founding fathers did for us. We can see that because of their sacrifice we have inherited their rights, but we have also inherited their responsibilities. “And to me and my generation, this means that I must accept this responsibility, and I consider it a privilege to pass on to my children and my grandchildren this great heritage. Closing 963

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Using his skills against DeMatha during the Christmas Tournament is senior Rick Peterson. SMILES Leaving LB was approached with not only happy cheers and anxious tunes, but also with doubts, tears and a little pain. Seniors had close ties with members of the Class of ’76 along with teachers and underclassmen. These were sometimes unwillingly loosened as goodbyes were spoken at graduation. Still, there was promise in the sumemr air of the coming years, the free time; and the coaxing winds of change kept us counting the days ’til the end of high school. Holding his own against five senior brutes is one of LB ' s ‘little people.”