Writers in Residence Program
Dr. Scotty & Hsiu Huang History Center
Plant City History & Photo Archives
She’s there. The lady in City Hall. She had her first walk through City Hall when she was only two, as her father proudly showed her the new City Hall. She’s still there.
Time passed in her youth as she dealt with matters of family life, and school, and extracurricular activities. She graduated from Plant City High School in 1938, named by her classmates as the most intellectual of her class. Her friends were excited about the new Florida Strawberry Festival that was still in its early years, and she became a maid to classmate Queen Catherine Fletcher. A proud moment.
Her family could not support a college education; she set aside her dream of teaching English. When the city needed an assistant to the city clerk, she applied. That was July 1, 1940. Her first day. Fifty years later, in July 1990, she was still in City Hall. It is now named the Nettie Berry Draughon Municipal Building. She is still there.
After 57 years in City Hall, 23 years as City Manager, Nettie Mae retired. But she is still there – the lady in City Hall. Her bronze-plated bust shines brightly in the lobby. Stop in. Say hello. She’ll be glad you did.
At her graduation in 1938, she received the American Legion Good Citizen Award and the DAR Outstanding History Student Medal. After the USA entered WWII, she joined the American Legion Auxiliary and served as President; she worked with the Girls State Committee and the Crippled Children Committee; she volunteered at Bay Pines Veteran Hospital in St. Petersburg.
In April 1943, she married Ralph Draughon, a 1933 graduate of Plant City High School, graduate of Elise Frank School of Art in Tampa, and a WWII veteran. Ralph worked in art and design for years for Boeing Aircraft at the Kennedy Space Center. The Draughons were together for the rest of her life, in the same house on Saunders Street. Ralph lived until 2002.
Nettie Mae Berry Draughon was appointed city clerk-finance officer in 1947 and served in that position for the next 28 years. She became part of the city itself and was there when someone needed her.
During her years as clerk-finance director, she had also served as interim city manager for three months and later as acting city manager from December 15, 1974, to August 11, 1975, when she was appointed city manager. She had declined when she was first asked, believing it should be a person with a college degree. When the city commissioners continued to ask, she accepted. She then served as city manager for the next 23 years, a rarity in Florida. She loved her job and loved Plant City. People knew that her light would be lit early and late. Her office door was almost always open.
P.J. Benton Danzey, the first black woman to work for city hall in the 1960s, credits Draughon for motivating her to complete her college education and get her degree in accounting. Nettie was also known to enjoy some fun – especially when her friend Sadye Martin, who called Nettie “my sister,” would join her in a spontaneous fishing stop with the poles they carried in the trunk.
Over the years, she received considerable recognition. She was the Ridge League of Municipalities secretary/treasurer for 28 years; director of the Municipal Finance Officers Association; Plant City Business and Professional Association Woman of the Year; Jaycees Good Government Award; Plant City Citizen of the Year Award in 1974; National Association of City Managers Outstanding City Manager; and was honored for her 50 years of government service by Governor Martinez and by President George H. W. Bush.
Looking back, she first walked in city hall with her dad, Albert Berry, who worked for the City of Plant City for 31 ½ years, police officer, street and jail departments, superintendent of sanitation. Then, in 1990, after 50 years with the city, City Hall was named the Nettie Berry Draughon Municipal Building. In 1994, an article in The Tampa Tribune read “Nettie Draughon, The Caretaker of Plant City.” And she was. In 1997, after 57 years with the City of Plant City, Nettie Mae Berry Draughon announced she was ready to retire. She was sent 57 roses by the city employees. Nettie Mae Berry Draughon died July 22, 1998, less than one year after she retired.
This is but a part of what there is to say about Nettie Mae Berry Draughon. Please feel free to come to the Archives and read her complete file.