On June 9, 1906, the Joint Board met with the main topic for discussion being that of selection of an administrator for E. W. Grove High School which was to have its opening in September of that year. The minutes read:

The committee heretofore appointed consisted of A. B. Lamb, W. W. Farabough and O. C. Barton to investigate and report as to a principal for the high school submitted the following report:

Mssrs. Chappell Bros. consisting of A. C. Chappell and C. G. Chapped have proposed to take charge of the school whenever the school building is completed and ready for occupancy, at the price of one hundred dollars per month, each, with the privilege to them, to have the tuition of as many as twenty-five pay students from without the county and if, there are pay students to this number, then they propose to employ at their own expense an additional teacher.

They further propose that at any time they do not give satisfaction to the Board in the management of said school, they will at once resign and terminate immediately their employment.

They further propose that during the time said school building, is completed, to prepare at their own expense a catalogue and do other necessary work preparatory to opening the school.

Therefore we, your committee recommend the employment of these gentlemen to take charge of the school (Board of Trust Minutes, June 9, 1906).

Mr. Collins replaced the Chappell brothers as administrator in 1908, but remained at the high school only one year (50th Anniversary E. W. Grove High School, 1956). In 1909 his successor was Mr. O. A. Bowden, who served at E. W. Grove High School for two years, or until 1911. After leaving Henry County Mr. Bowden taught at the University of California (Dunn, Interview, 1960).

Mr. W. T. Robinson came to E. W. Grove High School in 1911 for a five-year term as principal. While in this position he was instrumental in the founding of the Sub-Freshmen Class and the Teachers Course. Upon leaving the secondary school in 1916, Mr. Robinson became Superintendent of Schools in Chattanooga, Tennessee (Dunn, Interview, 1960).

In 1916, Mr. Zimmerman, who held the B. A. and M. A. Degrees from Vanderbilt University, succeeded Mr. Robinson as principal and held that position until 1918. Mr. Zimmerman later became the President of the University of New Mexico (Watkins, Interview, 1960 and Post Card, 1916).

The County Demonstration Agent for Henry County in 1917 and an E. W. Grove High School teacher, Mr. D. M. Clements, was appointed head administrator in 1918 and held the office for only one year. Prior to his appointment as principal he had been a member of the faculty for several years and a popular figure with the student body. Mr. Clements held a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture degree from Alabama Polytechnic Institute and was at that time taking summer courses at the University of Wisconsin, where he was working toward an M. A. Degree (The Parisian, May 3, 1918).

After his re-election for the 1919-1920 school year, Mr. Clements was appointed State Superintendent of Vocational Agriculture. The position was created by the Smith-Hughes Act (The Parisian, May 30, 1919).

The man chosen to fill the vacancy left by Mr. Clements was Mr. J. H. Bayer of the Industrial School in Nashville, Tennessee. Mr. Bayer, well known in scholastic circles, had been for fourteen years the principal of a preparatory school in Cumberland City. Prior to his service in Cumberland City, the educator spent ten years with the Industrial Training School in Huntingdon, Tennessee (The Parisian, July 4, 1919). His principalship at E. W. Grove extended from 1919 until 1923 (50th Anniversary E. W. Grove High School, 1956).

Mr. Bayer was not an applicant for re-appointment in 1923 and at the time of his leaving he made plans only for the summer. At this time he was scheduled to teach the first six weeks of the summer session at the West Tennessee Normal at Memphis. In The Parisian was printed the following concerning the resigned administrator:

Charles B. Matthews of Carthage, Tennessee, who held a B.A. Degree to from the University of Chicago, was chosen as the principal of E. W. Grove High School in 1923, a position he held until 1929. He came to Paris "highly recommended as a pedagogue and public spirited citizen who will take part in school and community development" (The Parisian, May 4, 1923 and 50th Anniversary E. W. Grove High School, 1956).

In 1929, one hundred and two applications went through the hands of the County Board of Education as a replacement was sought for Mr. Matthews, who had accepted a position as Superintendent of City Schools at Newman, Georgia, for the Fall of that year. Mr. W. J. Smith was chosen from the numerous applicants and came to Paris after having received an M. A. Degree at Peabody College in Nashville. He had taken an A. B. Degree earlier at the University of Tennessee (The Parisian, May 3, 1929).

As recorded in The Parisian, Mr. Smith's training was described as follows:

He was teacher of mathematics in Central High School from 1917 to 1920; was principal of the Sale Creek High School, Hamilton County 1920-23; principal of Senior High School at Pasagould, Arkansas, 1923-1926; Superintendent of City Schools at Oneida, Tennessee, 1926-28; and 1928-29 was 15 completing his course at Peabody College that gave him an M. A. Degree (The Parisian, May 3, 1929).

Mr. Earl Routon was elected to succeed Mr. Fitch during the 1937-38 school term. He was the second man to graduate from the school and later be chosen as its principal. The new principal attended county schools as a youth and later graduated from E. W. Grove High School in 1919 (The Parisian, June 4, 1937).

After a one-year study at the University of Tennessee, Mr. Routon taught one year before finishing the requirements for his bachelor's degree at Murray State College. He later received his master's degree from Vanderbilt University. Teaching experience was gained in various country schools of Henry County before he came to E. W. Grove High School, where he was a member of the faculty in 1932-33-34-35. In 1935 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (The Parisian, June 4, 1937).

At the time of Mr. Routon's appointment the school debt was over $2,000 and the bank account totaled just over two dollars, while at the end of his term of office in 1941 the account was over $2,000 and all debts were paid. "The money came from well organized school projects such as tournaments, class residues, picture shows, Athletic gates, and library donations." In addition, over $41,000 was spent on library materials without county assistance (The Parisian, August 15, 1941).

The following is a message from Mr. Routon to the people of Henry County as it appeared in The Parisian:

As she stands today, the greatest thing about Grove school is the ability and standing of her products. It is of signal importance that in many cases her students stand toward the top in colleges and universities where there are representatives from much larger and much better equiped schools. I am sure we can attribute this to the untiring efforts of the classroom teachers on the hill (The Parisian, August 15, 1941).

Barksdale, a native of McKenzie, received his bachelor's degree from Bethel College and his master's degree from the University of Colorado, at which he also has completed all work on a doctor's degree except his dissertation.

He was principal of Charlotte High School, Dickson County for 11 years before going to Ashland City, holding a record for spending his entire career as an educator in only two positions (The Parisian, August 15, 1941).

Mr. Moody stayed only one year before he moved on in 1944. His successor, Mr. Charles G. Pitner, had been head of the mathematics department at E. W. Grove High School since early in 1943. Concerning Mr. Pitner The Parisian said:

A native of Paris, he is a graduate of Harding College, Searcy, Ark., and had his master's degree from George Peabody College, Nashville, He also has a year's work on his doctor's degree at the latter college. He was assistant principal of Ashland City, Tenn. high school during the tenure of J. A. Barksdale who was instrumental in securing him when the local school was in need of a mathematics teacher. He also served as mathematics secretary of the Middle Tennessee Teachers' Association.

Since coming to Grove he has proved a most capable teacher and has taken part in all activities of the school, and the board feels it is fortunate in having him accept the principalship (The Parisian, August 4, 1944).

Mr. Dwight L. Norman was appointed by the Henry County Board of Education to succeed her. Pitner in 1950. The new school administrator held the B. S. and M. A. degrees from Murray State College In Murray, Kentucky. He also did post-graduate work at Memphis State University (The Parisian, July 18, 1950).

Before coming to E. W. Grove High School, Mr. Norman taught and held principalships in Kentucky. He was teacher and coach at Reidland from 1929 until 1936. In the fall of 1936 he became principal at Washington Junior High School in Paducah, Kentucky. After a term of nine years and in 1945, he became principal of Brazelton High School, also in Paducah. This position he held until his appointment at E. W. Grove High School (Norman, Interview, 1960).

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