Newspaper Page Text
VOL. 106 NO. 26
Parade, Concerts Top Features
Festivities For
Bicentennial To
Begin Here Sat.
Perry's "Salute to
% America" Bicentennial
parade will be held this
Saturday afternoon at 6
p.m. The parade is
sponsored by the Down
town Area Merchants
Association and will
feature more than 20
locally built floats as well
as many other marching
and riding units. Bands in
the parade include the
Marine Band, The Air
Force Band and a local
Dixieland band. Other
units to appear in the
parade are the Al Sihah
Shrine Temple from
Macon, the Macon Antique
Car Club and other units
from Middle Georgia.
The parade will
originate in the parking lot
.of Grant Plaza Shopping
Center and come down
Ball Street and then left on
Carroll to the fountain and
then left on Main Street to
** Joan Young, a city planner from Fitzgerald, Ga., was
in Perry last Thursday to study the progress and
overall plans of the Perry Redevelopment Authority's
project to revitalize the central business district here.
Similar plans are underway to revitalize the downtown
area of Fitzgerald, and Miss Young is gathering in
formation to complete the plans. Meeting with her at
Retail Sales, Tourism, Savings Rise
■ $$ Local Economy Takes An Upswing $$
Figures just out on the first quarter retail sales In
Houston County showed a gain of 17.6 percent for the
first quarter of 1976 compared to the same quarter of
1975.
Retail sales in Houston County totalled 544,818,000 for
the first quarter of 1976 as compared with 538,019,000 for
the same period in 1975.
According to a Home Journal telephone survey of
businesses all over the county, business has gradually
w climbed during 1976 after a dismal year in 1975. Most
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The Houston Home Journal
Eastgate Shopping Center.
Many of the downtown
merchants are having
special sales and inviting
customers to visit the
downtown area all day
Saturday.
Barbara Glasstord,
chairperson of the parade,
Special Edition
Coming Next Week
The Home Journal will publish a special, 40 page
Bicentennial edition next Thursday in addition to the
regular newspaper. All Home Journals mailed to
regular subscribers as well as those in the news racks
will include the special edition.
Mrs. John L. (Miss Ruby) Hodges, a former editor of
the HHJ wrote and edited the copy for the special
edition which touches on the history of Perry, Houston
County, Georgia and the Nation and also gives a
progress report on the local area. Watch for it next
week.
Fitzgerald, Ga., Studies Perry
Published Every Thursday At Perry, Georgia* - - A Certified Georgia City
is asking that everyone
who can dress in old
fashioned clothes this
Saturday for the parade.
She is also requesting that
all persons who have flags
fly them all day this
Saturday.
Perry Mayor James
The Bank of Perry, were from left, Redevelopment
Authority chairman Lewis M. Meeks, Authority
member Wendell Whipple and Perry Area Chamber of
Commerce executive vice president Elwyn McKinney.
Mayor James McKinley was unable to attend the
meeting. Miss Young states she was "impressed" with
the work being done in Perry.
retailers report that consumers are beginning to spend
money again and that products are now once again
plentiful and prices competitive.
Another good barometer of business is automobile
sales and those also have increased greatly over a poor
year in auto sales in 1975 in Houston County. Auto
dealers in Houston now are selling more “big" cars
than they did last year. One dealer said that he appears
to "be stuck" with an abundance of compact cars. He
noted that consumers, for the most part, do not want the
compacts at they once did in 1973,74, and 75.
PERRY, HOUSTON COUNTY, GA.. THURSDAY JUNE 24, 1976
McKinley is the grand
marshall of the parade.
Marine Band Concert
Perry's Bicentennial
activities this Saturday
actually get underway at 4
p.m. with a concert and
flag pageant ceremony
presented by the U.S.
Marine Corps. Band on the
courthouse square. The
public is invited to attend
the 4 p.m. band concert of
patriotic music.
Youth Concert
A 7;30 p.m. concert
Saturday night at the
Perry High football field
will headline two
nationally known singing
groups, TRUTH and SALT.
The groups will present a
program of patriotic as
well as contemporary
music for the youth of the
community.
Tickets are now on sale
or can be purchased at the
gate Saturday night.
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Otis Gunn (left) owner of Gunn's Peach Orchards in
North Houston County, is smiling because so far this
has been one of the biggest peach crops in recent years.
With Gunn is long-time Gunn general manager (H.E.
(Horace) Evans Jr. of Perry and Astor, Florida. Evans
“Peach Season In Full Swing”
(See page 2 A for more photos.)
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The peaches going up this belt at the Gunn Peach
packing shed have just come in from the field. Here the
Banks and savings and loan institutions are once
again reporting gains in savings locally. In some cases,
interest rates have gone back up paid on savings after a
cut in 1975.
Another boost in the local economy has been the in
creasing rise of tourists on Interstate 75 here so far this
summer. Some motels and other related tourist
businesses are reporting almost record numbers of
over night guests. Most tourist people in Perry feel this
will be one of the biggest tourist summers in Perry's
history if the traffic continues to build throughout the
Looking Over The Red Globes'
Bumper Crop Os Peaches
said his crew is working full time and more to pack the
"bumper" crop of peaches this season. The Gunn Farm
is located 12 miles north of Perry on highway 41 near
Centerville. It is the biggest peach farm in Houston
County and Gunn's Farm is one of the leading peach
packers in the United States.
peaches are going through an initial cleaning and
washing process and the workers here are taking out
leaves and other field trash.
remainder of the summer.
In general, business is getting better in Perry and
Houston County. Most merchants are looking forward
to a continued Increase in sales during 1976 and are
looking forward to an even better year in 1977. Many of
the local merchants interviewed by The HHJ attribute
their outlook for 1977 to a new administration in
Washington, and most believe it will be a Democratic
administration.
Whatever the reason for the economic upswing, local
merchants are happy about it and hopes it continues.