Marple Newtown High School - Memories Yearbook (Newtown Square, PA)

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To the Class of 1976 High school life will soon be history for each of you. History can never be changed, but it can and should be used as a guide for future action. You are graduating at a time when considerable opportunity exists for those properly prepared. There are those who would have you believe that all great opportunities are in the past and there is no longer any hope for the world. To those of you who would listen to these pessimistic voices, a look at the past might be in order. Let us consider, first, the pioneers who left home and country to go forth into the wilderness to set- tle thirteen colonies. Surely they were not handed a paradise free of work and worry. Nor did they ask for one. Those brave men who established a new nation in 1776 did not ask for a guarantee of happi- ness, but rather for the right to pursue it. When Abraham Lincoln assumed the role of leader of this nation slightly more than a century ago, he did so when the nation was torn violently between two conflicting ideologies. Nor did this nation have an abiding faith in its future. It would be hoped that these brief reviews of some of the past troubles would serve to show that we have not only come through them but have actually improved ourselves in doing so. It is hoped that during the past three years, you have laid the basic structure for your life’s work, because the human soul without education is like marble in the quarry. On behalf of the Board of Directors, the Administration and the faculty, I extend my sincere con- gratulations to each of you for your accomplishments to date, and wish for you all the success that your endeavors may earn for you. Above everything else, I wish you the joy of finding some parts’ of the “unfinished rainbows’’ that still abound for those who would search for them with diligence and patience. James R. W. Best i 2

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MEMORIES 1976 Marple Newtown Senior High School Newtown Square, Pennsylvania

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Dear Students of the Class of 1976, The Class of 1976 holds the distinction of graduating in the year of our Nation’s Bicentennial. At a time when the credibility of our leaders is in serious doubt, 1 charge you with the responsibility to provide leadership in whatever your life’s endeavor. More important, I would charge you with rekindling the Spirit of 1776 at which time human dignity was paramount in the thinking of the Founding Fathers. Although democracy means many things to many people, we must not forget that it permits all of us to live with the truth about ourselves. This is a distinction held only by those who live in a democ- racy. I encourage you to perpetuate all that is good in our system. The .system will take care of all that is repugnant to it. I sincerely hope that your learning up to this point in your life not only has broadened your vision and raised your character but also has made you sensitive toward humanity. On a personal note, I have been with many of you for six years — three years at the Junior Fligh School and the past three years at the Senior High School. 1 hope that many of you consider me your friend, for I feel that I have many friends among you as a result of our long a.ssociation. All of my efforts as your principal were aimed at providing you with challenging and relevant programs and excellent teachers in addition to the maintaining of high standards. I will do no less for those that follow you. Academically, you rank as an outstanding class. In addition, the leadership provided by your cla.ss officers, Student Council officers and members of your class is exceptional. I sense that “Spirit In ’76’’ really is the beginning of a new Marple Newtown spirit. Finally, I extend to all of you best wishes for a happy, healthy and productive life. William C. Capriotti 3