Alben W. Barkley was born in Lowes, Kentucky, in 1877 and came to Paducah in 1898. He was elected to his first public office as McCracken County Attorney in 1905 and became County Judge in 1909. He served in the House of Representatives from 1913 to 1927, in the U.S. Senate from 1927 to 1949 and again from 1955 to 1956, and was Senate Democratic leader for 13 years. He was Senate majority leader under President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Vice President of the United States from 1949 to 1953 under President Harry S. Truman. Known as “The Veep,” he died on April 30, 1956, while addressing a mock Democratic Convention at Washington and Lee Univ. His last words were, “I would rather be a servant in the house of the Lord than sit in the seats of the mighty.” He was buried in Mount Kenton Cemetery in 1956 and was loved and honored by the nation.