Webmistress' Note:  The following history was compiled and written by the Ancient History Class at Strawberry Plains, TN, High School circa 1935.  The Student Historians and their Authorities are each listed at the end of this text.

The research and recording of these histories are important not only to document history but also to provide the names and activities of many individuals whose contribution to history might have been otherwise anonymous.  This document is possibly the only place their names and contributions have ever been recorded within this county or elsewhere.   Through interpolation of this information, the time of writing this text was determined to be after 10 Mar 1936.

The document was preserved by the late Beulah Shults and typed by the late J. B. Malone, October, 1996; it is used here with permission of J. B. Malone.  The document has been edited slightly by the Webmistress for grammar and spelling.

Be sure to also read the other part of this document -- History of Strawberry Plains and Its Surrounding Communities -- available on this Web site.

In our search for facts about the history of Rush Strong High School, we have consulted the older citizens of our community, the teachers who have taught in the building, the early graduates of the school, and the records which have been left in the files of the school.  We trust that the information, which we are handing on to you, is correct.  We have attempted to be authentic in every detail.  

It was not because of the age of the old school building, nor the condition of it, that created a desire for a new building; it was the crowded condition in the two class rooms.  There was not any person in particular who started the idea of building the brick building which we call Rush Strong High School.  Suddenly, the talk of the building became "the talk of the town."  Everybody was interested.  A meeting was held in the Presbyterian Church, and a school building committee was formed with A. C. Parrott as Chairman and Will Walker as secretary.  Others on the committee were J. P. Gardner, Dr. H. L. Campbell, and Dr. M. N. Dukes.  Later, W. E. Parrott and A. D. Hamilton were added to the committee.

The people of the community donated $11,000 which was matched by $11,000 from the Jefferson County School Board.  Rush Strong, formerly a citizen of Strawberry Plains, but then a resident of Knoxville, had an outstanding offer of $1,000 to any school building in Jefferson which would bear his name.  This offer was taken advantage of, the appropriation was raised to $23,000, and the school has borne the name of Rush Strong ever since.

The land on which the building was erected was obtained for $1,000, and the construction was rushed forward.  The services of H. R. Graff and Son were secured to design the building.  The main carpenter was a Mr. Tarwater, and the main brick mason Muck McMann of Sevierville.  The plumbing work was done by a man in Sevierville whose name we have not ascertained, and the electrician was a Mr. Ruckman.  The corner stone was laid May 30, 1923, by the local order of the Masonic Lodge No. 462.

The original plans of the building called for much the same building that we have today, but, due to the lack of funds and also due to the lack of the need of so large a building, the two wings were left off the original building.   The building as it was built was far in excess of the needs for the first few years of Rush Strong School.

When school was first opened in the fall of 1923 there were only three teachers, and the building was not completed.  Percy Hickson, the principal, taught the seventh and eighth grades and the high school.  Miss Ruby Wagner taught the fourth, fifth, and sixth; while Miss Elsie Wiggins taught the first, second and third.  We have no records of what the enrollment in the elementary school was, but it has been estimated at about 80.  At the beginning of the year there were only two high school students, James Shakleford and Paul Bailey.  Later in the year, Caswell Franklin entered high school, making the high school enrollment for the year 1923-1924 reach the grand total of three students.  The elementary school was larger that year than it had been in the old building, due to the fact that the old Jackson School in the lower bend of the Holston River had been discontinued, and the students came to Rush Strong.

In the following year, the school year of 1924-1925, Bill Gilbert contracted with the county to operate a hack, which furnished free transportation to these students.  The enrollment of the school was increased sufficiently to get an additional teacher, Mrs. Addie Moody being added to the faculty of the previous year.  From that time on, the history of Rush Strong School has been a story of progress.

During the next two years, in which Percie Walker was principal, the school gained three more teachers, being then a seven-teacher school with three teachers in high school and four in elementary school.  A Mr. Morgan was operating a bus, in which he brought the former students of Beaver Creek School and Hodges School to Rush Strong School.  In the following years, 1927-1928 Walter Burris became principal and another teacher was added.   Students were now being hauled from Cedar Grove School in Rocky Valley.   That year, Rush Strong High School was truly a four-year high school, with an enrollment of 42 and a graduating class of seven, who are as follows:  Paul Bailey, James Shakleford, Blon Ely, Pauline Ely, Ruth Galyon, Dellah McCampbell, and Tom Swaggerty.

From that time forward, accurate records have been kept concerning the high school.  These show a general increase in enrollment, and the added number of teachers in the elementary school indicates an increase in enrollment in that part of the school.  The increase in high school enrollment was due in part to the fact that a bus was being operated from Dumplin, which brought to Rush Strong High School the elementary graduates of Dumplin, Cherry Hill, and Piney.

The flag pole in front of the school building was erected in the summer of 1928.  It was given by the local Junior Order, which gave the school a flag at the same time.  The flag, which is used now, however, was presented to our school on November 10, 1934, by the Junior Order of Jefferson City.   The opera chairs for the auditorium were bought with money obtained from the estate of Aunt Emiline Howell, colored, who willed one half of her $600 estate to Rush Strong High School and the other half to Rolling Hills School.

During the early history of Rush Strong School athletics does not seem to have been an important feature.  Until the fall of 1929, when Richard E. Spainhour became principal, tennis was the leading sport.  Soon after Mr. Spainhour's arrival, however, a basket ball court was graded, and a boy's basket ball team was organized.  In the following year, when Wright W. Frost came to our school, he organized a girls' basket ball team.  Rush Strong High School has never boasted of a strong basket ball team; but, ever since its beginning in our school, basket ball has been the leading sport, even though the teams have been handicapped by having to practice on an outdoor court.

During the Administration of Mr. Spainhour, who was principal for five years (1929-1934), the high school enrollment increased from 48 to 65, and the elementary enrollment went above 300.  Two teachers were added, making a total of ten.  By this time, the building had become overcrowded.   The basement rooms, which had been constructed for laboratories and play rooms, had long since been converted into classrooms.  In the fall of 1930, the auditorium was being used for two classrooms, one of them being partitioned off with beaverboard.  The eighth grade teacher, who occupied the auditorium, taught one subject of high school along with one section of the seventh grade.  In the following year, departmental work was started in the upper four grades of elementary school, and it has continued ever since.

The need for an addition to the building was apparent, and there was talk about the prospects of getting it.  In October, 1930, the County Court was asked to appropriate enough money to build a combination gymnasium and auditorium in order that the old auditorium could be properly cut up into classrooms.  This effort failed, as did other appeals to the County Court in July, 1932, and again in 1933; but, in April, 1934, the Court agreed to appropriate $6,000 for materials for an addition to Rush Strong High School on condition that the TERA would furnish the labor.  About the same time, the school board agreed to supplement the amount with $1,500 and later gave an additional $1,000.  The TERA had already been appealed to about a month before.  Arthur J. Jacobs, district engineer for the TERA, who had visited our school and noted the crowded conditions, spoke before the County Court in our behalf.  Proper applications were made out and sent to Nashville to await the approval of Col. Walter L. Simpson, State Supervisor of TERA.  The days of waiting were anxious ones.  Letter after letter was written to high officials in behalf of our project.  On request of Mr. J. B. Calhoun, State School House Planning Director, our Senators and our Congressmen were appealed to.  The students and teachers of Rush Strong School wrote approximately 100 letters.  Weeks went by.  It was not until after the middle of June that the project was approved.

H. R. Graff and Son, the architects of the old building, already had blue prints for the addition.  On June 30th, the ground was staked off, and on July 6th, work actually began.  J. P. Gardner, who had worked so faithfully toward getting the building, was made superintendent of the construction work.  Most of the men were used to get the ground ready for a foundation; but, many were sent to the woods to cut logs which W. E. Parrott, local school board member, donated to the project.  Mack Stallings was employed to saw it [lumber], and some of it was dried in his kiln.  Jim Townshend (sic), who was employed by the county as head carpenter, brought his planer to the grounds where much of the lumber was planed.   Some of the lumber was taken to the manual training shop of the Maury High School at Dandridge to be dressed.  By such managing, about 72,000 feet of lumber was obtained at a very little cost.  Another great savings was effected by borrowing from the Jefferson County Highway Dept. a concrete mixer, air compressor, jack hammer, trucks, and many tools.  The Holston Quarry donated crushed stone, which was hauled in the highway trucks.   Others donated sand from the Holston River, with which to make mortar and plaster.  Without these donations, the building could never have been erected on the amount of money allowed for materials.

When the high school opened on September 3rd, most of the lumber was piled on the campus in front of the building, but the concrete foundation was not yet entirely laid.  It had been decided to postpone the opening of the elementary school until a month later for fear that the little children might get hurt.  High school had been going on only a few days, however, when the work was suspended temporarily.  The elementary school then was opened one week later than the high school.  There was much despair among the people lest the work would never be resumed; but, after about two weeks, work was started again in earnest.  Slowly but surely, the foundation was finished; the sub-floor was laid; bricks were laid; the roof was placed; and, by January 1, 1935, the building was practically completed so far as outside work was concerned.  Work since that date has been taken up largely with inside work and improvement of the campus.  The new part of the building, when completed, will contain a gymnasium, an auditorium, a music room, a kitchen, a sewing room, and three additional classrooms, besides the halls.  The old auditorium will soon be converted into two large classrooms, a hall, and a library room.  

There have been several people in our community who have worked hard toward getting the new building and improving the school.  Among these are Mr.  and Mrs.  W.  E. Parrott, J.  P. Gardner, Wright W. Frost, R. E. Spainhour, Mrs. B. E. Cline, L. E. Bailey, and I. L. Swaggerty.  We would never have gotten it, however, without the help of a number of friends outside the community.  We are indeed indebted to the following agents of the TERA: Arthur J. Jacobs, Dan W. Gardner, Mrs. Fred Harrison, and Mrs. Clyde Walker.  We are grateful also to the following magistrates who voted for the appropriation of money with which to buy materials: Harry Vance, Ben Webb, Hobert Hart, A. E. Fox, F. W. Rankin, Lute Chilton, Y. R. Williams, H. J. Moser, W. A. Hull, W. M. Finchum, J. P. Gardner, I. K. Swaggerty, Flem Arnold, L. C. Mill, T. L. Holbert, and J. H. Burchfield.   Thanks are also due to the Jefferson County School Board, which was so kind to supplement our appropriation, and to Herbert Walters, State Highway Commissioner, who was influential in obtaining additional funds from the TERA.

The school year 1934-1935 has been, perhaps, the most dramatic of them all.  From the very first, we were faced with the proposition of carrying on in spite of the noise and confusion which go with construction work.  At times, the sound of the hammer and saw was so loud that classes could hardly be heard.  Sometimes it was the sound of a planer and tractor or jackhammer.   At times, the students were required to move to one side of the building during a dynamite shot.  At other times, shots were set off without warning.   Workmen paraded our halls while talking, singing, and smoking.  The principal's office, which was already being used as a library, became also the office of the TERA, a store room for explosives and fixtures, and for a while an office for a branch of the TVA.  Yet, through it all, the school went on.

The high school enrollment increased from 65 of last year to 87 for this year.

Rush Strong High School
During the School Year 1935-1936

When the high school closed on May 17, 1935, the TERA had just about quit work.  This was partly due to the fact that the money, which the County had appropriated for materials, had been exhausted and partly because the TERA was not allowing as many men to work due to the coming of warmer weather.  The closing of school found the new part of the building practically completed except for the installing of heating equipment.  The installation of a heating system, however, was a major task, since it required a new boiler.  Considerable remodeling was needed in the old part of the building.  

The County Court was hesitant to appropriate additional money for the completion of the building until it was sure what the Government was going to do.  When it was learned that the Administration had set up a WPA, which would furnish 70% of a project, the County Court appropriated an additional $3,000 for the completion of the Rush Strong School.

Working up the project was no small task.  This was done largely through the efforts of Wright W. Frost, J. P. Gardner, Joe Gardner, Jeb Walker, and Howard Jones.  After about a week's work on the application, the project was approved in Knoxville and about a week later in Nashville.   There was considerable delay, however, in its acceptance in Washington.  

Meanwhile, by the use of such labor as was furnished by the TERA during the summer and by the help of some laborers hired by the County, the old auditorium had been reconstructed into a class room and a study hall.  The old stage had been partitioned off for a library, but as no window had been cut in it; and, as the floor had not been completely laid, the library remained in the office.

When school opened on September 2nd, the entire building was thrown into use except for the library and the study hall, which did not at that time have seats in it.  When cold weather came, however, the school was forced to move back into the old part of the building.  As the auditorium was not heated, chapel exercises could not be held in it.  There was no joint chapel exercise from Armistice Day until the heat was installed in the auditorium, and this was about February 1st.

The main part of the work under the WPA consisted of excavating for a boiler room.  This excavation required five weeks.  About 85% of the material removed was limestone rock.  After the excavation was made, several weeks were spent in building the walls and roof for the new boiler room.  Before the roof was put on, it was often necessary to keep the boiler fired at night in order to keep the water lines in it from freezing.  An unusually cold winter greatly hindered all the outside work.  

Other work done by the WPA consisted of painting the walls of the old part of the building; repairing the plaster; remodeling the heating system in the old part of the building; installing a heating system in the new part of the building; constructing dressing rooms, cloak racks, and book-shelves; building seats for the gymnasium; installing showers for both boys and girls; equipping the wash rooms with blinds; constructing a concrete walk in front of the building; and grading of grounds at the rear of the building.

The WPA work was supervised by Joe Gardner, who had helped work up the project.  The office and store room was located in the music room of the new part of the building.  While less construction was done by the WPA than was done by the TERA the year before, the work probably caused more confusion, for, during much of a five-week period, there was the sound of a jack hammer to be listened to.  Shot after shot of dynamite was fired in order to make the excavation for the boiler room.  One of the shots blew out every glass in the office window, making it necessary to close the window space by means of boards nailed to the walls.

Much of the work on the heating system took place during the Christmas holidays, which lasted from December 20th to January 16.  During that time, the old boiler was taken to Jefferson City, and the new one was placed in the bottom of the hole that had been excavated for it.  Most of the painting was also done during that time.  When school reopened after the holidays, the new part of the building was still unheated.  The heating system was completed, however, within two weeks after school reopened.   The gymnasium was heated for the first time on January 24th for the game with New Market.  Previously games had been played in a cold gymnasium.

For some time after the heating system was completed, the high school remained downstairs, and the upper grades upstairs.  This was due to the fact that the library was not completed.  The removal finally took place, however, on March 5th.  A great improvement, which took place during the year independent of the WPA, was the installation of a new curtain in the auditorium.  The new curtain was installed by the Knoxville Scenic Company for $120, and the old curtain [blank].  It was installed on February 3rd.

While the WPA was officially closed at Rush Strong School on April 3, 1936, the new blackboards were installed by WPA workers on the following week.   This was due to the fact that the boards had not come in time to put them up earlier.  Cork bulletin boards were installed throughout the building at the same time.

History of Transportation to Rush Strong School

The Rush Strong Elementary School draws its students from Rocky Valley, Hodges Station, the Upper and Lower Bends of the Holston River, and from the vicinity of Strawberry Plains.  In addition, the seventh and eighth grade students of Piney and the high school students of Cherry Hill and Dumplin attend Rush Strong School.  Transportation has always been furnished free to elementary students.  It was $1.50 per month to all high school students until 1932, when it was reduced to $1.00 per month.  The July Court of 1934 appropriated enough money to give free transportation to high school students.  This is one of the reasons that the school year of 1934-1935 has witnessed the greatest increase in enrollment in the history of Rush Strong High School.

From the Lower Bend of the River -- The first transportation furnished by the County for students of Rush Strong School seems to have been for the students of the Lower Bend of the River.   Their school house, The Jackson School, had been torn down and the students were walking to Strawberry Plains or furnishing their own transportation.  In 1924, the second year of Rush Strong School, Bill Gilbert began operating a hack for the county and operated it for one year.   During the following two years, a hack was operated buy J. O. Cook.  A third hack was operated by Jake Cain in the school years of 1926-1928.   These men owned their hacks and operated them under a contract with the county.  During these times, the road was so bad that a motor vehicle could not be operated during the winter months.  A better road was built, however; and, in 1929 C. H. Duignan began operating a Chevrolet bus, which he has continued to operate until the present time.  This bus makes two trips each morning and afternoon.

From Hodges and the Upper Bend of River -- In the fall of 1925, the students who had been going to the Beaver Creek School and to the Hodges School were transported to Rush Strong School.   A Mr. Morgan operated the first bus.  It had a closed top at the beginning of the year, but after a period of time, it was changed to an open top truck.   This bus had curtains along the sides, and the seats were placed like car seats.  The doors opened at each seat on both sides of the bus.

The second bus was operated by Will Glover, a resident of Strawberry Plains.  It was an old White truck with curtains and heavy wires on each side.  The seats were placed lengthwise in the truck.  Mr. Glover ran the bus until 1928, when Bill Owsley, of Rocky Valley, took the contract.  He hauled the students from the Bend in a 1925 model Dodge truck for three years, while the students from Hodges rode in a 1928 model Chevrolet truck, which hauled the Rocky Valley students on its first load.  Then, for two years, he hauled the students from the Bend in the Chevrolet and the Hodges students in an old Studebaker Safety coach, on which the Rocky Valley students rode on its first trip in the morning and on its second trip in the afternoon.  In 1933, Earl Cate began operating a Chevrolet with a special-built body of wood.  From that time since, the Hodges students and those from Sweet Gum Bend have ridden the same bus.

From Rocky Valley -- The first bus to be operated out of Rocky Valley was a Model T Ford truck owned by Will Glover.  It ran two years, 1926-1928.  Paul Hoosier drove the first year, and Jim Shakleford the second.  About two months before school was out in the second year, the motor ruined from a freeze; the students were transported in the White truck, which Mr. Glover operated from Hodges and Sweet Gum Bend.  He made the second trip for the Rocky Valley students.  The bus ran to the junction of the road near Kerr's Store.   In 1928, Bill Owsley began operating a Chevrolet bus, on which he transported the Rocky Valley students and made the second trip for the Hodges students.  In the afternoon, he made the Hodges trip first, taking the Rocky Valley students home on the second trip.  In 1931, he used an old Studebaker safety coach for Rocky Valley and Hodges, making two trips, and used the Chevrolet truck for Sweet Gum Bend.  In 1933, Earl Cate began operating a large Chevrolet bus, on which Rocky Valley students rode on its first trip in the morning and on its second trip in the afternoon.  The same arrangements have existed for the past two years.

From Dumplin and Cherry Hill -- The elementary schools at Dumplin and Cherry Hill were not discontinued for consolidation with Rush Strong School; but, in 1926, the county began furnishing transportation for the high school students from these communities.  Before this time, the high school students from these communities had been going to Dandridge, Sevierville, Rush Strong and Carter High Schools, providing their own transportation.

The first county-operated bus to run from Dumplin to Rush Strong High School was owned by John C. Bonds.  It was used for six years and driven by his boys, Jay and Hollis.  It was a Model T Ford truck.  The average number of students hauled each year was 25.  In the fall of 1932, Arthur Cate began operating a Chevrolet truck with wooden bus body.  The wooden body was replaced by a steel body in January, 1935.  The seventh and eighth grades from Piney School also ride this bus.  The average [number] who ride this bus is about thirty.  It is driven by Harold Cate.

Graduates of Rush Strong High School (through 1935, when the main portion of this document was produced)

Rush Strong High School had her first graduating class in the spring of 1928.  This was Walter Burris' first year as principal.  The total number of graduates, including the graduating class of 1935, is 64.  They are as follows:

Rush Strong School Faculty

During the [first] twelve years of Rush Strong School's history, 38 different teachers have taught. They are listed according to the years they taught and according to grades taught.

1923-1924 (three teachers)

1924-1925 (four teachers)

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