Van Albert Strow
Written by Justin D. Lamb
(Courtesy of the Strow Family)
Van Albert Strow was born on February 4, 1893 to Ethan and Ethel Barnes Strow in Benton, Kentucky. Strow attended school in Benton and graduated from Benton High School in 1911. On April 4, 1916, Strow married Laura Rowe and they had one son, Albert Rowe Strow.
Following completion of school, Strow received a job in 1914 with the United States Postal Service as a carrier for Rural Route 6 which covered the city of Benton. After six years with the postal service, Strow resigned as mail carrier and began working for the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company as a salesman until he became partners with V.A. Stilley in the drug store business in Benton.
Strow opened his own drug store in 1927 on the southwest corner of the court square and according to the 1933 publication, The History of Marshall County, Strow Drug Company was a premier drug store with a “complete line of pure and patent medicines, stationery, magazines, cigarettes, sodas, toilet articles, fountain pens, and jewelry.”
Albert Strow was very active in the Benton community. He was elected a member of the Benton Board of Trustees (now City Council) and was Mayor of Benton from 1928 until 1932. He was the first “hands on” mayor and he led a progressive administration which resulted in the installation of water works in the city as well the construction of a sewer system. His administration also saw the paving of Main and Poplar Streets and ushered in a new era of progress in Benton.
After an unsuccessful run for Kentucky Secretary of State by his wife Laura in 1935, Strow and his wife divorced, and as a result, the Strow Drug Company was split and eventually sold. Strow’s personal trouble was too much for his political career to handle in 1930s Marshall County and Albert Strow opted not to seek re-election to the Benton Board of Trustees. Following the separation from his wife and the end of his political career in Marshall County, Albert Strow moved to Louisville in the late 1930s where he worked as a salesman.
On Friday, April 3, 1953, Albert Strow was walking to his home in Louisville when he collapsed in the street. A nearby policeman saw him and called for help, but Strow was a victim of a massive heart attack at the age of 60. His body was sent back to western Kentucky and buried in the Maplelawn Cemetery in Paducah.