Women work at “The Derby.”

On Dec. 6, 1939, the Daily News reported that the Bowling Green-Warren County Chamber of Commerce approved plans offered by the ways and means committee to raise $65,000 to build a Union Underwear Factory in Bowling Green.

The factory was built in 1940 and opened for business in 1941. It was expected to employ at least 250 people. More than 1,200 people applied for positions at the factory that would be known as “The Derby.” The Derby Underwear Co. was a division of the Union Underwear factory, and they made Fruit of the Loom underwear.

– “Way Back When in Warren County” is compiled by researchers at the Warren County Public Library and appears twice weekly in the Bowling Green Daily News. For more information about the library, visit warrenpl.org.