The Grove Comet ~ 1969 ~ Final Copy ~ Section One ~ Page 10

It is not every man who prepares himself for service in the field of education who is inbred with those qualities which are so essential in a school administrator. It is a high,
humbling, and exacting privilege
to serve as the principal of a high
school. Knowledge alone is not
enough; there must be wisdom
too. A real educator realizes that
there must be positive moral and
spiritual values in an educational
system, for one of the basic
purposes of education is the
building of character.
It is indeed an honor for the
Comet to list the eighteen
principals of E. W. Grove High
School, for each man in his own
right fulfilled the demanding
requirements of his office by
dedicating his administration to
building boys and girls into
better and more responsible men
and women. They encouraged
our self-development and
stimulated our minds, ever
concerned with the development
of the abilities and talents of
each of us.

When Grove first began in
1906, until 1908, Clovis and
Ashley Chappell were
co-principals. The following is a
list of the succeeding principals
and the time of their
administrations:

Mr. Collins, 1908-1909
Mr. 0. A. Bowden,
1909-1911
Mr. W. T. Robinson,
1911-1916
Mr. Zimmerman, 1916-1918
Mr. D. M. Clements,
1918-1919
Mr. J. H. Bayer, 1919-1923
Mr. C. B. Matthews,
1923-1929
Mr. W. J. Smith, 1929-1934
Mr. Earl Routon, 1937-1940
Mr. J. A. Barksdale,
1940-1943
Mr. D. W. Moody, 1943-1944
Mr. Charles G. Pitner,
1944-1950
Mr. Dwight N. Norman,
1950-1963

Mr. Robert Perkins,
1963-1964
Mr. John Underwood,
1964-1969 The Rev. Clovis Chappell now
resides in Waverly, Tennessee;
Mr. Jerry Fitch in Nashville,
Tennessee; Mr. J. A. Barksdale in
McKenzie, President of Bethel
College; Mr. Dwight Norman in
Sanford, Florida; Mr. Robert;
Perkins in Paris, Tennessee;
Principal of Grove Junior High
School; and Mr. John
Underwood in Paris, Tennessee.
Messers. Ashley Chappell,
Collins, Bowden, Robinson,
Zimmerman, Clements, Bayer,
Matthews, Smith, Routon, and
Pitner are now deceased.
   A poet has said:
   "We are blind until we see
   That in the human plan
   Nothing is worth the building
   If it does not build the man."
   Those words depict with
remarkable accuracy the
dominant characteristic of the
educational philosophies of
Grove's principals. Educators,
we thank-you.

"We do not know what
education could do for us
because we have never tried it."
This could be an appropriate
quote from the universal group
of problem students in any high
school. However, every high
school has a group whose motto
could be, "We know what
education can do for us. See,
we've tried it." Both groups have
proved countless times that the
direction in which education
starts a man will determine his
future life.
Since 1906, Grove's list of
members in the second club of
successes has far outreached the
members in the first club of
flounderers. Many Grove
graduates have attained
distinction in Tennessee and
throughout the nation and
established themselves in the
fields of education, medicine,
the ministry, business, finance,
law, politics, and the armed
services. It is to these people the
Grove Comet now pays tribute.
A graduate of E. W. Grove High is Dr. C. C. Humphreys,

who is now the President of
Memphis State University in
Memphis. The professor of
journalism at Memphis- State is
our own Dr. Herbert Williams.
Mrs. Clem Krider is a speech
teacher at Murray State
University and at Northwestern
University, as well as a teacher
of speech classes locally. Robert
Covington is at present a
member of the Vanderbilt law
faculty in Nashville. The
Director of Evaluation for
Commissions on Institutes of
Higher School for New England
Association of College and
Secondary Schools at Boston is
Dr. Robert R. Ramsey.Another graduate or Grove is
Dr. Joe Morris who is an oral
surgeon in Memphis, Tennessee.
A local resident and graduate of
Grove is Mr. Joe Routon who is
a member of the Nashville
Symphony. Outstanding in the
ministry is Mr. Charles Orr,
assistant to the pastor at First
Baptist Church in Paris. Carlos
Owens is presently serving as the

Baptist missionary to Africa. An
outstanding Washington, D.C.
columnist is Mrs. T. J. Kelly
(Mrs. Virginia Kelly). During the
late President John F. Kennedy's
term of office, Charles G. Neese,
Jr. was appointed as a federal
district judge by the
recommendation of the late
Senator Estes Kefauver.
Multi-millionaires Don and Bill
Sutton are presently being in
seclusion on their estate in
Memphis.
Miss Clara Gilbert is an
educator and government
representative, presently in
India. Dan Clark is a lieutenant
in the Navy Reserve, assigned to
submarines. An engineer in India
during the war is Gordon Smith,
now living in Chattanooga.
Marshall Turner is serving as a
foreign diplomat through a
United State embassy.
The late Mr. Mitchum Warren
was the President of Mitchum
Company, an internationally
known cosmetic corporation
located in Paris.

   Professor Alfred Sewall Weston served as a member of the Grove High School faculty for 25 years and he died in the year of 1946, but he will be remembered affectionately and respectfully by all those who sat in his classes and were included in his wide circle of friends.
   Professor Weston was known
for his keen memory, strong
interest in sports, his teaching
skill, his sense of humor, and his
love for his fellowmen.
   He came to Grove in
September of the year 1921 as a
Latin teacher and once for a
short period he taught Civics.
   Professor A. S. Weston was
born in Mt. Vernon, Maine, and
he lived in southern Canada
and the New England states until

he was 18 years old, when he
moved to New Jersey, he entered Princeton University and studied history under Woodrow Wilson.
At Grove he was a timekeeper
in football for 21 years, and
during his years he declared the
29's, 38's and 39's Grove teams
were among the greatest to wear
the traditional blue and white.
Mr. Weston was always
interested in sports, but the only
sport in which he obtained any
indication of recognition was the
mile walk. In fact, Mr. Weston
did so much walking that he
took on by habit the old
heel-and-toe gait!
He used to walk several miles to participate in a game of chess with his very close companion, Albert Wynn Jackson. Then he would walk

back the same distance. He once
stated, with a twinkle in his eye,
"It's horrible to look at and
worse to do. No human being
would travel that way if he were
in a hurry."
When Professor Weston
taught at Grove he would time
the class intervals very
accurately with his watch and
would ring the class bells.
Professor Weston left a big
impression on Grove. It wasn't
until after his death, though,
that Weston Hall carried his
name. Very little is written
down about Professor A. S.
Weston. The actual greatness of
this man lies in the minds of
those who personally knew him
or those who were students in
his classes.