The News-Democrat

09/23/2025

Paid for by Darden Copeland for Congress.
Get some grub and have a
'meet & greet' at Loretta Lynn's Kitchen 5:30 -7:00 Wednesday, September 24. Casual come-and-go. Children are welcome!!

09/10/2025

Poland has invoked Article 4 due to Russian escalation. Here is a basic breakdown of it via google:
Article 4 is generally considered the starting point for major NATO operations, and therefore is intended for either emergencies or situations of urgency. It officially calls for consultation over military matters when "the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the parties is threatened."
What do you think?

09/08/2025

We are soooo thankful for the Backstories series that Daryl Mosley with the Humphreys County Chamber of Commerce writes for our little small town paper!
Here is another great read on one of everyone's favorite people you probably know from Luff-Bowen Funeral Home, or had the pleasure of meeting just from living in our little community. What a great read 📰!!!

Last week, our BACKSTORIES featured Mr. Cooter Bowen of Luff-Bowen Funeral Home. Be sure to check out next week's article in The News-Democrat.

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Any successful business must adapt to changing times. But imagine having a business that was operating before aspirin, before zippers and ballpoint pens and motion pictures. Our area is blessed with such an institution, and it is still thriving today. Luff-Bowen has been a name synonymous with quality and community service in Humphreys County since 1879 and Mr. Cooter Bowen has made it his life’s work.

“Cooter is a nickname,” he shared. “My given name is Jess S. Bowen III. I got the nickname as a baby when I was brought home in 1945. Mrs. Ophelia Phillips, who worked at Luff-Bowen said I was a ‘cute little cooter’ and it stuck.”

Cooter was born in Atlanta while his father was serving in World War 2. After his discharge, his father moved the family to Waverly. “We lived in a house behind the funeral home on East Main Street,” he said.

But Cooter’s story actually begins four generations prior. “The business began in 1879 as a general merchandise store on Church Street in Waverly where the Senior Citizens center is today” he shared. “The store sold, among other things, coffins like in the old western days.” Around 1935, they purchased the building on Main Street where Samuels on the Square is today. The general store was in the front part of the store, while the funeral home operated in the back. At this point, the embalming process had begun, and Mr. Bowen Senior became the first licensed embalmer in Humphreys County.

The name Luff-Bowen is derived from Cooter’s grandparents, Jess Bowen Senior and Maggie May Luff. In 1938, The Colonial Hotel on East Main Street in Waverly was purchased by Mr. Jess Bowen Senior and the funeral operations were moved there while the store stayed in its location on the square. The former hotel building served as the funeral home from 1938 until 2004 when it was torn down, a victim of eminent domain for the widening of State Highway 13.

Cooter began working at the funeral home at a very young age. “Dad would drag me out on ambulance calls. At the time, there were no other vehicles available for transport than ours. So, they were combination funeral coaches and ambulances,” he said. “This was before paramedics and EMTs. What we had was basic first aid training from Dad and from Boy Scouts.” Cooter actually went on the payroll at thirteen years old and by sixteen, was driving the ambulances.

After high school, Cooter went to University of Tennessee in Knoxville and then transferred to UT in Martin. “After two years, I told dad that I wanted to go to mortuary school,” he said. “Dad made me a deal. I could go to mortuary school and graduate, but then I had to go back to UT and finish my degree. So, I agreed.” After graduating mortuary school, Cooter did return to Knoxville and finished his degree at the University of Tennessee in 1969. The day after graduation, Cooter was working at Luff-Bowen.

Cooter says that as times have changed, Luff-Bowen has changed with it. “Technology has impacted the funeral business a great deal,” he said. “From body preparation to chemicals used, restoration, burial, so many things.”

When asked what makes for a good funeral employee, Cooter said, “Good employees need a heart to do things for others. Not everyone is acclimated to this type of work. It is a twenty-four hour a day, seven day a week occupation. You have to have a desire to serve.”

Cooter says it’s very different taking care of the funeral needs of friends and neighbors in a small town as opposed to a larger city having strangers as your clientele. “I’ve been asked often how I deal with handling the funeral needs of someone I know. I always ask, who better to take care of a friend than a friend? I’ve embalmed many friends and family members, including my grandfather. Part of why I chose this as a profession was because of the expertise involved. I have always put my whole heart into my work. My dad was very adamant about treating the deceased with dignity and respect. That has been one of the hallmarks of our company.”

Luff-Bowen Funeral Home was directly involved in the explosion of 1978 as well as the flood of 2021. Cooter said, “In 1978, we set up a temporary morgue in a service building behind the (then) gas company. Dr. Jerry Francisco and a team from the state medical examiner’s office in Memphis came down and we were there all night. I learned a great deal on forensics from the medical examiners. When disasters happen, you just work through them one case at a time.”

In 1959, Luff-Bowen, in partnership with the Waverly Exchange and Lions clubs, purchased the land that is now Richlawn Cemetery. In 1975, Luff-Bowen built and opened the funeral home in McEwen. The Luff-Bowen retail store closed its doors in Waverly in 1996. The current location of Luff-Bowen funeral home in Waverly was opened in 2008, adding a crematory in 2009.

Looking towards the future, Cooter says Luff-Bowen plans to adapt and continue serving the community. “We will change with the times. As we have changed over the years, we will do so going forward. Luff-Bowen is, as I understand it, the second oldest business in Humphreys County. The state of Tennessee recently recognized our service of over one hundred years.”

Asked if he could have ever imagined his life in a different field, Cooter said no. “Even while I was in college planning on being an engineer, I would see ambulances on the streets in Knoxville and think that I could be doing that. I even worked part time at a funeral home while I was in Knoxville. All my growing up memories are within the environment of the funeral home. It’s a calling. It was just in my genes.”

Be sure to stop by Luff-Bowen Funeral Home and say hello to Mr. Cooter Bowen and his wonderful staff.

BACKSTORIES is an article series on local business from the Humphreys County Chamber of Commerce.

09/02/2025

Yall head over to Samuel's on the Square and have a nice meal!!
Thank you Daryl Mosley with Humphreys County Chamber of Commerce for writing another fabulous Backstories!!!

Our most recent BACKSTORIES was on Sammy Simpson of Samuel's On The Square. Be sure to get a copy of The News-Democrat for this week's story!!

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Becoming a business owner in a small town requires a variety of skills. One of which is the courage and belief that you can make it work. Sammy Simpson with Samuel’s On The Square took the leap into restaurant ownership, and it continues to be a highlight stop in Humphreys County.

Sammy was born and raised in Humphreys County. “Born up on the hill in (what was then) Nautilus Memorial Hospital,” he said. In high school, Sammy’s interest leaned towards music, but his primary focus was finishing school and entering the employment world.

“My first job was developing x-rays at the hospital,” he shared. “Later on, I was in the first crew when Hardee’s opened in Waverly, and then I went to work at the Ebbtide plant.” Then, at the age of nineteen, the opportunity for self-employment became available. “My dad had a packaged ice business. He asked me to run it. In ten years, we went from thirteen accounts to over one hundred accounts. We were moving fifteen tons of ice a day.”

After a decade, the ice company was sold to a corporation. In his early thirties and married with children, Sammy had to reinvent himself. “I went to work tending bar at Calhoun’s in Nashville,” he said. For the next ten years, he worked behind the bar. “I paid my house off during that time,” he said. He also found his interest wandering into the kitchen. “I would read ingredients, recipes, that sort of thing. I also worked briefly at Antonio’s in Bellevue and learned from him just because I was interested.” At the same time, Sammy became interested in cooking shows. “I watched America’s Test Kitchen and Good Eats. They were food scientists. They explained the why behind cooking and not just the how. There was a lot of science behind it, which really interested me. So, I started cooking at home.”

Then, the door to a new opportunity opened. “In 2009, after Marble Oaks shut down, I had a number of people encourage me to start a new restaurant there,” he recalls. “So, I took the plunge and opened Samuel’s On The Square. We've been here sixteen years now.”

Sammy says running Samuels is a family affair. "My youngest daughter Madeline has taken the initiative to manage the kitchen. She can prepare almost all the dishes that we serve. My oldest daughter Emilee has also partnered with me in the kitchen as well, and my oldest son Trey has too as well as served our guests, and my mother Marcia partnered with me in the kitchen for four years."

Sammy said there are challenges to running a small business. “Keeping help is not easy,” he said. In addition to being a full-service restaurant, Samuel’s is also an event venue.

Sammy says he appreciates the local folks who come in regularly, but it’s the out-of-town visitors that keep him going. “We have people from Brentwood, Milan, Parsons, Clarksville, lots of places, just to eat here.”

Asked what advice he’d offer to a young entrepreneur, Sammy said, “I would ask them to come down here and work with me. There is so much to running a business, things you don’t anticipate until you do it.”

Sammy says he still loves making a life in Humphreys County. “I love living here. It’s my home. Society, as a whole, is not what it used to be, but things are still much the same here. We are blessed.”

Stop in and say hello to Sammy while you enjoy dinner at Samuels On The Square in Waverly.

BACKSTORIES is an article series on local business from the Humphreys County Chamber of Commerce.

08/22/2025

08/22/2025

Please share!!! There will also be a notice in the paper, but sometimes our friends miss the info and this time of year many people have stuff they must get in the paper!
As always, we appreciate the support of our wonderful community. Without you, we wouldn't have a small-town newspaper.

08/21/2025

Online Only. Going on until August 26!! Get registered and bid bid bid!!!!

08/21/2025

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – State Senator Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield) announced today the details for his fourth annual 100-mile bicycle ride to remember the victims of the deadly flooding in Waverly and Humphreys County, marking the four-year anniversary of the tragedy. His ride will take place on Saturday, August 23, 2025 and begin at the Robertson County Courthouse at 8:00 am and end at the Humphreys County Courthouse.



“Each year, my goal is to remember the victims as well as remind Tennesseans of the families and businesses of Humphreys County who continue to struggle as a result of the flood,” said Sen. Roberts. “The flood claimed 20 lives and damaged or destroyed over 800 homes. It’s important to me to let the people of Humphreys County know we have not forgotten them.”



“We also continue to call attention to the need for rebuilding homes and businesses. The flood affected thousands of lives and livelihoods,” added Roberts.



As he has since his first ride on October 31, 2021, Senator Roberts will bicycle 100 miles on Saturday from his home in Springfield to the Humphreys County Courthouse in remembrance of the lives lost and in support for those affected by the floods.



More information on Roberts’ ride can be found at www.kerryroberts.com/news.



Information on Waverly and Humphreys County can be found at https://visitwaverlytn.com/.



Donations to benefit the families and businesses impacted by the flood can be made to United Way of Humphreys County, Box 212, Waverly, TN 37185.

Welcome to Waverly,Tennessee Welcome to Waverly, TN, a hidden gem in the heart of Tennessee. Here, you’ll find a place where southern hospitality greets you at every turn, where neighbors are friends, and where the pace of life invites you to slow down and savor each moment. Discover Amazing Locat...

08/11/2025

Thank you Daryl Mosley with Humphreys County Chamber of Commerce for another excellent backstory on a community member and business owner!

Last week, our BACKSTORIES featured Erik Houston from Waverly Express Tire and Alignment. Be sure to check out this week's feature in The News-Democrat !

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Harlen Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken, Howard Schultz of Starbucks, and Sara Blakley of Spanx are all examples of people who saw adversity as an opportunity. Erik Houston of Waverly Express Tire and Alignment took his lifelong love of cars and combatted the adversity of the covid pandemic with a thriving business serving our community.

Erik grew up in Humphreys County. “I was born in Dickson and lived in McEwen until I was seven, but then we moved to Waverly,” he said. Even as a youngster growing up, Erik developed a love for cars. “I grew up around cars and tractors. I always loved tinkering with them. My dad had a lot of cars growing up and we went to a lot of car shows.”

Eirk fondly remembers his first car. “It was a 1954 Bel Air that my dad and I worked on. My first driving vehicle was a 1979 Bronco that we restored.”

After high school, Erik went to Tennessee Tech with a focus on mechanical engineering but never developed the passion for it. He returned to Waverly, married, and went to work at Houston Products. In 2009, Erik took the leap into self-employment and started a sheet metal business.

In 2020, the covid pandemic began impacting many industries, including construction. Eirk was also wanting to make sure personal changes. “I was traveling a great deal and wanted to be home with the family more,” he said. With his experience in already running a successful business combined with his love for cars, it made sense to take the plunge into another family business. So, he opened Waverly Express Tire and Alignment.

Erik says one of the hardest obstacles is that the car repair industry has a bad name because of some unscrupulous practices. Erik said, “We try to be very diligent in doing what the customer needs. We don’t replace parts that are not needed. It really is a pleasure to be able to help people and meet their needs.” Erik has a philosophy about the work. “I instill in my team to treat each repair as if your mother or your family is going to be driving it.”

Erik shares that ever-changing technology cuts both ways in the car repair world. “There are programs we have to purchase and update, and many other things. But, on the other side, we can access information in ways that were never possible before.”

When asked what advice he would give someone who wanted to start a business, Erik shared, “Find and hire good people. They will make or break your business. I am fortunate that I have really great people here.”

Stop by and see Erik at Waverly Express Tire and Alignment. They are located at 1056 W. Main Street in Waverly.

BACKSTORIES is an article series from the Humphreys County Chamber of Commerce.