Sportraits

Seven local businesses helped Dirk Draper declare his love for Summer Bolton. Among them were Taco John's. When Bolton saw the message rom her boyfriend of nine months, she knew there would be a gift inside the restaurant for her.

Normally, I think my photos do a pretty good job of telling the story, but in this instance, I felt compelled to attach the story - only because you rarely hear of something like this happening - especially in a place like Murray.

By KRISTIN TAYLOR
Staff Writer
Only 20 years old, Summer Bolton’s first Valentine’s Day with Dirk Draper will be one for the ages. Bolton mixed spontaneity with his love for her as he gave her an hour to find her name and sweet expressions on seven local business signs. Like a scavenger hunt, each business had a gift waiting for her.
“I just thought, wouldn’t it be neat if you woke up one morning and your name was on a bunch of signs?” Draper, 21, said of his twist on the traditional flowers, candy and love notes. “Wouldn’t you feel special?”
The first stop was Backyard Burger, where the message was “Happy Valentine’s Day Summer.” At nearby Ryan’s Steakhouse, she got two stuffed monkeys. At Grey’s property, the sign read “Be My Valentine Summer” and invited her in for a gift bag.
The day started when Bolton opened her apartment door to find Draper’s letter that directed her to drive about town for his messages and gifts. She said she was excited to embark on the hunt.
“It’s a good one,” Bolton said of her boyfriend’s idea when she talked to the Ledger & Times during the Grey’s Properties stop.
Grey’s broker Linda Houck talked to Draper when he came last week. And even though she had another message to put up on the marquee, she wanted to help the young couple celebrate.
“I think when people are as enthusiastic as they are, we should do what we can to help,” she said not long before she changed the sign to wish her “heart baby” husband a happy birthday.
Draper and Bolton met their freshmen year at Murray State when they both lived in White College. Now juniors, they have since moved off campus and have been dating the past nine months.
They were “sort of friends” in the beginning, Draper said after first meeting Bolton. “Then we kept running into each other and one thing led to another,” he said.
Much like the sweet trail he left her Monday.
The next stops were Taco John’s, Bab Bob’s, Boone Cleaner and Pocket’s Shell. The gifts along the way included flowers, candy, jewelry and a picture of the couple. Draper said he took a couple rejections when asking businesses for their help last week, but that didn’t hurt the plan.
“The ones that were in helped the whole way,” he said.
Draper had two extra gifts as incentive for Bolton to finish the Valentine’s scavenger hunt within 45 minutes. If she took an hour, she still got one extra gift. Really, Draper admits, the gifts were going to be hers regardless.
Committed to the cause, Draper even put up the greeting at Boone’s Laundry on 12th Street. That business didn’t have enough letters to spell out “I Love You Summer,” so he borrowed some from Domino’s to leave the message in a mixture of black and blue letters. But it helped all worth the reaction.
“She was stunned,” he said. “I just wanted to wow her. I think I did.”