Bedford High School - Missile Yearbook (Bedford, MA)

Page 10 text:

Our little town A small town incorporated in 1729, Bedford as a community played an important part in the American Revolutionary War. Well known to most residents, the oldest flag in the country and the only flag flown at the battle at Concord Bridge is the Bedford Flag, now housed in the public library. After the war, the citizens began work in establishing schools and town government, the offices of which haven ' t been changed since the first town meeting. The Union School was built in 1891 with only 8 grades, though the first class of Bedford High School graduated from the Town Hail in 1886. From 1900 on, high school students went to other towns until 1955 when our own BfH.S. was built. After WWII, with the growth of Hanscom Air Force Base, the population rose. The base, which started construction funded by the Federal Government in 1941, houses the Air Force headquar- ters for the Electronic Systems Division. The community of Bedford has always been a close one, with everyone helping each other. Through the efforts of volunteers many traditions are still maintained for the enjoyment of others — traditions such as the Bedford Santa Prograrn, the Strawberry Festival, and the annual Bedford Day Celebrations. Now, over 254 years since it ' s incorporation, the population of Bedford is 13,000. The town is a center of the technological revolu- tion with hundreds of businesses and industries, situated next to Rt. 128, America ' s Technology Highway . With all the em- ployees of the industries, the population of Bedford doubles dur- mg the daytime. Despite all the technological progress taking place in Bedford, however, this town typifies the beauty of a small New England community, the atmosphere of whicfi shall always be remem- bered when we reflect tack on our high school years. Upper Right: An attraction on the base, this monument greets visitors. Lower Right: The oldest flag in our country and the namesake of the yearbook. Left: The Great Road was the path of the soldiers in 1776. 6 TOWN I

Page 9 text:

Change is eternal in high school; personalities change, depth of knowledge changes, attitudes change. This year, the yearbook, too, has been modified to reflect the current trends in annual publications. It all began in May of 1983 when we decided to take a formal senior class picture for the yearbook. Because it would be the first of its kind in color, the scene was decorated by a framework of brilliant balloons, a touch which has inspired the theme of this year ' s book, Up, Up, ana Away! As seniors, we have been growing over the past four years and, likewise the yearbook has im- proved. For 1984, the staff has made many changes. The first noticeable change is the name of the book. Since the first BHS publication in 1957, the yearbook had been titled Missile because of a Nike site in Bedford. As times have changed, this name seemed to become less meaningful and stu- dents decided it was time for a new name. Because Bedford is known for having the oldest flag in the country, Signum, which is Latin for flag, was chosen. The entire format of the book has been changed from its traditional format to a more updated and exciting one. The book begins with a sixteen page COLOR opening. BHS has not used color since 1979, but this year due to many new fundraisers, we are able to afford this new section. After the opening there is a section called The People which includes seniors, superlatives, the directory, and underclassmen who now have individual pictures. The next section combines several of the traditional sections into one; it is called Student Life and in- cludes events, activities, and surveys. Following this is the Sports section which precedes Academics. Academics includes not only faculty pictures, but also interesting insights into each de- partment of BHS. The 1984 yearbook ends with the Advertising section which has been expanded to include an index listing the pages on wnich every student is pictured and the pages of each sub- section. To add to format change, the staff tried to keep several things in mind. First, the yearbook needed more copy . . . more written words. When looking back twenty years from now, the names that are so clear to each of us now might h e a little hazv then. We tried to caption all pictures and add many feature articles which are meant to be both humor- ous and interesting. Also the staff tried to be care- ful with graphic designs. We attempted to use lines, sequential section dividers, and other graph- ic effects to enliven the book. Most importantly, the fact that a central theme was used ties the book together. We decided on Up, Up Away because not only did we have a senior class picture decorated with balloons but also we have moved up through the high school , . . Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors . and final- ly Seniors. As our last year closes, it is time for us to go away hut we will never forget our times at BHS . . the friends made, laughter shared, and trou- bles overcome, all of which have been imprinted in our minds to be remembered fondly. We, the yearbook staff, hope that our attempts have made Signum the best BHS yearbook ever. CHANGES 5

Page 11 text:

Above Left: Bedford Gate marks the entrance to the Lt. Lawrence G. Hanscom Air Force Base. Above: A center of congregation for students, the library is a busy place. Above Right: The town common frames the beautiful historic First Parish Church in Bedford. Above: Mac ' s A frequent meeting place of Bedford students. TOWN 7