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Perry Advances in communication and transportation positively impacted the struggling economy. In 1870, John T. Waterman established the first newspaper, the Home Journal, still in business today. In the same year, a telegraph service and a spur of the Southwestern Railroad connect ed Perry with outside markets. Diversified farming replaced the dependency upon cotton for money. The Home Journal, Jan. 16,1875, lists in addition to cotton, cash crops of rice, wheat, rye barley, oats, sweet pota toes, Irish potatoes, wine, cane syrup, clover hay, tobacco, peanuts, vegeta bles, berries, dried apples and peaches. The propagation of the Elberta peach coupled with advancements in refrigerated rail cars created a com pletely new farming industry. Fresh peaches could then be shipped north where there was money and a ready market. Many small farms included peach orchards and packing sheds. With economics improving, there was some time again for aesthetics. The Houston Literary Association formed a public library and reading club stocked with 900 books at Library Hall. In 1879, Houston County celebrated its first well-pub licized Agricultural Fair in Perry, a cooperative project. When the Methodist South Georgia conference met in Perry, families of every 7834 - SuijijMj (ftiiilulai], tAmi! f73c*f \s4 , JHS€V4? to its citizens You are invited to the big party! 2:00 - 3:00 p.m., Friday November 19,1999 at City Hall Governor Roy Barnes, Honored Guest Special Music provided by the Award Winning Perry High School Pride of the Crossroads Band denomination entertained its dele gates in their homes. Ladies who accompanied their husbands here met at the Perry Presbyterian Church and formed the Methodist Missionary Society. In 1887, sons of Confederate vet erans organized a local military unit, the Perry Rifles. They operated much as the old militia units had with monthly meetings and summer encampments. In 1898 the unit vol unteered for the Spanish American War, but were not called. Even so, many individuals served in Cuba as members of the Georgia Volunteers and volunteered again for service in World War I with more than 600 men from Houston County. On the home front attention turned to needed publish services. In 1889 the Perry Council petitioned the Legislature for two tax-supported schools, “one white and one colored” according to the laws of Georgia. That year Perry’s first street lights actually 11 kerosene lamps were lit in the evenings and turned off each morning. Children, enchanted by the nighttime glow, often followed lamplighters Bill Harrison and Bill Russell as they lit each lamp. In 1895 the people of Perry voted to issue bonds for the installation of the town’s first waterworks. Another definite sign of progress was the emergence of banks. The Perry Loan and Savings Bank opened in 1889 with an authorized capital of if jf jB w at. Ij rat M wt' B hh j Ik' w JBsßj M m bKJhk' JHHH& Jgg Rj jB . Hometown Heros - This 1947 Perry High basketball team was the first team from Houston County to win a state championship. They were coached by Eric Staples, Americas winningest high school coah, who led teams to eight state championships and 16 regional championships, winning 924 games, and losing only 198. Staples was inducted into the Georgia Prep Sports Hall of Fame in 1957. City of Perry 175th Birthday, Nov. 17, 1999, Houston Home Journal $25,000 after operating two years without stock and with only $2,000 in deposits. This financial institution Continued from page 2B later merged with Houston Banking See PERRY, Page 1 IB 3B