In
1934, W. A. Holmes took over the principalship. Soon, after Mr. Holmes became principal, a gift of two acres of land was presented
to the school by Mr. and Mrs. George B. Dryden. Parents, teachers, and students cooperated in the improvement of the school’s
appearance. Shrubbery was placed around the buildings, flowers were planted on the grounds, and drives were lined with hedges.
An old bus shed was converted into a classroom to make room for the reinstated and rapidly expanding agriculture program.
During this time a fourteen-room teachers’ home was built on the campus, and a vocational agriculture building and classroom
were added. The old school building was renovated and the construction of a new plant begun. A beauty parlor, a barber shop,
and a cannery were built.
In spite of very urgent needs, today’s Eastman
has an enrollment of nearly six hundred pupils and a faculty of fourteen teachers. The farm training and trade programs furnish
instruction to more than one hundred veterans. With the promise of a new physical plant becoming a reality, the Eastman of
the future will be even better prepared to meet the needs of today’s youth.