Mr. Grover G. Brown is the subject of our story today and the second I have shared in the last year or so.

When I think of Mr. Brown, he was the father of education in Brown County. This story was submitted for print in the Brown County Historical Society’s publication Brown County Remembers and is not signed.

Grover G. Brown, like Abraham Lincoln, was born in a log cabin, but Brown did not desire to be president. Grover G. Brown attended a one-room school in Brown County.

Grover G. Brown, like all farm boys, had his pleasures and sadness. His sadness was he was kicked by a mule with both feet. A runaway mule team has no respect for life or person. It took 17 weeks to repair his body. Then there were the four times he had dog bites.

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As for Brown’s schoolwork, he was a champion speller. We did not have any high schools in Brown County.

At this time in Brown County, before the turn of the century, there was a “normal school” in Nashville, one in Pikes Peak and another one in Hamblen Township taught by Cornelius Campbell in 1897. These schools provided a review of elementary subjects.

Upon attending one of these schools for 10 or 12 weeks, a person could get a license to teach for six months in Indiana. Grover G. Brown went to Pikes Peak Normal School. He spent two years at Central Normal College and four years at State Teachers College. He also went to Indiana University.

Grover G. Brown started his teaching in a one-room rural school in Brown County in 1903.

Brown County always had one week of County Teacher Institute to refresh teachers’ inspiration and to build a philosophy of education. At this institute in 1915, I met Grover G. Brown. He had been teaching for 12 years.

When preparing for County Institute, the first thing to decide is where the County Institute can be held. Next is what date would be suitable. The next thing is what subjects should be discussed. Then try to find speakers acceptable to teachers. Last of all is to notify the teachers of the county activity.

One institute had speakers Charles H. Barts and Mrs. Wilson discussing “the boy problem,” “the difficult age,” “helping pupils find themselves” and “the fun of teaching.”

After attending the institute all teachers were placed and school was in progress.

From 1917 to 1929, Grover Brown was elected to the superintendent’s office of Brown County. From 1929 to 1933, Claude Kennedy was elected to the office.

During this period, 1929-1933, Grover G. Brown bought the Ford Motor Sales and he taught three terms at the Taggart School, a two-room school. He was superintendent again from 1933 to 1953 then he was principal at Sprunica from 1955 to 1958. Grover G. Brown resigned April 13, 1959 and retired May 1, 1959.

As superintendent, Grover G. Brown had the task of visiting all schools in the county. Some of the roads were suitable for a Model T. while others were not. Grover G. Brown visited the schools for the purpose of helping the teachers and he graded their teaching.

Sylvester Barnes and Fred Fleener were given grades of 100 percent. He cheered up the children by telling them a good story. Their favorite story was “The Taileypo,” which he heard John H. Cox of Morgantown, West Virginia tell in 1918. Grover Brown wrote the story in 1961.

One of Grover G. Brown’s best achievements was his letter writing project. He required all eighth-grade students for graduation to be able to write him a good letter.

The better letters, he would answer with a beautiful, handwritten letter in the Zanerian method of penmanship. For those not so good, the answer would be written with the typewriter. In the 20 years of letter writing to the graduates he answered 2,500 letters personally. He helped to make many people conscious of a good letter.

Of interest for those of you who had relatives educated in the Brown County school system, in the years mentioned in this story, perhaps your parent, grandparent or relative was part of Grover G. Brown’s letter writing project. If so, you may be able to get a copy of that special letter from the History Center. Check with us.

— Submitted by Pauline Hoover, Brown County Historical Society