Earl Routon principal at Grove High School

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).

The preceding material reprinted from the History of Grove High School Website
By Maruice Huston Field