opened his own harness repair shop in 1906. The next year, Luther’s older brother, Mert, moved home from St. Louis and the two borrowed $300 from their father and opened Draffen Brothers Farm Supply Company. The farm supply company later became Draffen Brothers Department Store in 1916. It was a store that had everything from groceries and clothing to farm supplies and hardware. Luther served as president of the Lower Tennessee Valley Association (LTVA) and lobbied hard to get a hydroelectric dam built on the lower Tennessee River. After turning his garage into a boatyard, where volun- teers built a fleet of boats to rescue more than 2000 stranded flood victims in 1937, that dream finally came to fruition on July 1, 1938, when Congress appropriated $2.613 million for construction. The New Store Draffens got tired of a crowded store, They thought they wanted to trade a bit more. They planned a new store in the latest style To construct this store, took quite a while. And Draffen’s new store is a fine place to go. “Service and Accuracy” is their motto, They’re all very kind, jovial and witty, It’s really the best store in Calvert City. The store is located on Main Street, Facing the north to protect summer heat. It’s very beautiful and clean as can be, Without and within, it’s beautiful to see. And now I’ll try to describe the new store, There are show windows in front And a double glass front door. An attractive balcony sets off the back, And as for decorations, there is no lack. The counters, varnished with dark brown, Hold the best quality articles in this town. The service is good, the price is low, These are the reasons it’s such a good place to go. So any time prices make you fret, Go to Draffen’s you’ll never regret. ERLINE BRIEN – 1923 Kentucky Dam is 22 miles upstream from the conflu- ence of the Tennessee Riv- er with the Ohio. Ohio. The dam is the longest in the TVA system, and the reservoir—which stretches for 184 miles across Kentucky and Tennessee—is the largest in the eastern United States. On the tail-end of the Great Depression, the construction of the dam not only helped with the decades of flooding issues on farmers’ land but also provided a boost in the local economy by providing roughly 5,000 jobs. Because of Luther’s persistence, the location of Kentucky Dam was placed just up the road from Calvert City. Before the dam, thousands were leaving to find work in automobile factories in Detroit and Flint, Michigan. Kentucky Dam brought in skilled laborers from all over the country. Many families relocated to Calvert City because of the opportunity to work at Ken- tucky Dam. Citizens say that’s what made Calvert City special. Different people and cultures from all over the United States moved to Calvert City to live and work. LTVA, led by Luther Draffen, was made up of roughly 40 business leaders from western Kentucky, northwest Tennessee, southeast Missouri, and southern Illinois. On October 10, 1945, Kentucky Dam was dedicated on a
