Brady is retiring this year

By ROBBY LUCKE
Staff

A youth grows up in a small, rural town. He (or she) makes plans to leave, vowing to leave the small town's dust behind him. Later, life's experiences teach him to appreciate and even embrace the hometown he tried to leave behind.

It's a familiar story, one portrayed with different variations in movies starring Jimmy Stewart and Michael J. Fox, and in songs by Mac Davis, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Toby Keith and Travis Tritt.

The theme is also part of the life story of Sparta Elementary School Principal John Brady, who is retiring this year.

When he was 18 and about to start college, Brady thought happiness was Alleghany County in his rear-view mirror.

Principal John Brady talks with pupils Kylie Bartlett (center) and Amanda Galyean, as they plan a project during a Mountaineer Millennium summer session in the Sparta Elementary School cafetorium.

After college, however, he served 31 years as a teacher and administrator in the same school system where he grew up. Now that he is stepping down, he says, "I don't picture myself ever living anywhere else besides here. I'm just a mountain boy."

Through some unexpected twists and turns, Brady has left his mark on all four of the county's schools. He recalls, "My mom always said, 'Never say never, because you'll probably end up doing that.' I found that to be true."

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