Robert Wesley Drane was born on October 25, 1886, in Lauderdale County, Alabama. He is best known for the Drane-Young Tragedy, in which he was charged with the murder of G.W. Young. On May 31, 1912, Drane shot Young down on the street, and on July 19, 1912, he was charged with murder. The trial, known as "The Drane Trial," began on July 26, 1912. The jury found Drane not guilty by reason of temporary insanity.
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After the trial, Drane went on to establish a successful retail cigar business. In March 1914, he and his company, R.W. Drane & Co., started a new wholesale cigar factory in the second story of the Perlitius building on Tennessee Street, in Florence, Alabama. By 1917, his company's estimated annual production was 56,000 cigars. Drane was considered one of the most enterprising and energetic business men in Florence.
READ MORE ABOUT DRANE CIGAR COMPANY IN PART 1
Drane was a prominent member of the community and served in various roles. He was the president of the Alabama Association of Real Estate Boards in 1930 and the president of the Florence Chamber of Commerce in 1932. In January 1933, he was appointed to the joint committee to handle the details of the reception and entertainment of President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt during his inspection of Muscle Shoals.
Drane died on August 25, 1942, in Nashville, Tennessee. He was survived by his wife, Kate Harsson Drane, who died on August 31, 1953. At the time of his death, Drane was involved in the wholesale distribution of oil and gasoline.
Having studied the latest methods in the tire industry in both Ohio and Florida, Drane, Jr. was an expert in the tire and rubber industry when he took over for D.P. (Pops) Sloan at Goodrich Silvertown located at the corner of Court and Tuscaloosa streets.
Taking his knowledge of rubber tires and wheels, R.W. (Bob) Drane, Jr. founded the Drane Manufacturing Company in May of 1947. The company produced wheels for tricycles and toys such as doll baby buggies and scooters. Drane and his fifteen employees produced up to 2,000 wheels per day at their factory on Terrace Street in East Florence.