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.