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City birthday brings time to reflect on future, too
ByJIMWORRALL.
Skoal to the Home loubnal
Birthdays often times cause us to
reflect on the past rather than to
look forward to the future. As our
community' approaches its 175th
birthday, the temptation for me is to
indulge in a bit of nostalgia as I
recall the wonderful days our city
experienced in the late forties and
SM■ I
early fifties.
As I walk
up Carroll
Street, 1 am
reminded
that at one
time this
street was a
very heavily
traveled sec
tion of U.S.
41, the main
route from
WORRALL
Detroit to Miami. U.S. 341, anoth
er heavily traveled federal highway,
crossed U.S. 41 at the corner of Ball
and Carroll streets. As a result of
that traffic, much of the area was
dedicated to the traveling public. A
gas station or a restaurant could be
found on almost every corner as you
passed through the Crossroads of
Georgia.
In addition to the appeal Perry
had to the traveling public, it was
still the heart of Georgia’s premier
farm land with large, beautiful
farms surrounding the city. To take
care of the needs of the farmers,
four tractor dealerships existed
within the city limits. Dealerships
had been established to represent all
the major manufacturers of farm
equipment.
Gray-Walker Tractor Company
was located where the Perry Play .s
now have their theater. Andrew'
Truck and tractor, the international
Harvester dealer, was housed in
what is now known as Babcock
Furniture Store. A Ford tractor deal
ership was located where Walker-
Rhodes has a dealership at the pre
sent time, and the George C. Nunn
and Son Case Tractor dealership was
located across from the Davis Oil
Company on Jemigan Street.
Feed and seed for the farmers of
the area was supplied by a local
Purina Feed dealership that was
located where the Mitered Corner is
today on Carroll Street. Thompson
Warehouse, located on Jernigan
Street behind Gilbert Electric
Company, also furnished seed, feed
and fertilizer for area farmers.
Downtown Perry was dotted
with stores that furnished the needs
of the community including two
hardware outlets, three drug stores,
four grocery stores, two ladies dress
shops, one bank, one department
store and three automobile dealer
ships, to name just a few.
During the early years of World
War 11, Robins Air Force Base began
to influence change in the City of
Perry. The number of workers being
employed at the giant defense depot
brought about housing shortages
and soon many of the workers were
were seeking housing in Perry.
The old established neighbor
hoods on Washington Street, Ball
Street, Evergreen Street and Main
Street, with houses dating back to
the middle 1800’s, remained the hart
of the city, even as new homes were
being constructed throughout the
areas beyond the well defined busi
ness and residential districts that had
been in place for so many years.
The Perry Consolidated School,
which consisted of grades 1-12, and
was housed in one building since
1925, took care of the educational
needs of children from Henderson,
Elko, Grovania, Hayneville and
Centerville. In 1950, a new Perry
Elementary School was constructed
to take care of the ever increasing
number of children in the Perry area.
It was also a sign of the changing
times for the community.
No longer a community relying
on agriculture for its economic base,
Perry evolved into a bedroom com
munity for Robins Air Force Base
■ aft —■ ’
From the past - Tourists in Perry stayed at the Wells
Hotel, which was located on the site of the present
Swan Motel.
® Happy 175th Birthday
to the City of Perry!
Many things have changed during the 110
years weVe been serving the people of
Perry-but one thing remains the same.
This is a great place to live and work!
The Bank of Perry
hSc 1006 Main Street
We're Y2K OK 987*2554
workers and remained so until recent
years when efforts to establish a
broader base of opportunity for
employment became a priority for
local leaders.
With the diversification of job
opportunities another change began
taking place in the community.
Larger industries began considering
the advantages of relocating some of
their plants to small communities
because of the number of well quali
fied workers available to staff their
growing businesses.
The Pabst Brewing Company
was among the first to see potential
in locating one of their giant facili
ties in a smaller community, and
chose a site on Ga. 247 just south of
Perry to build their new brewery. In
the years to follow, Frito-Lay and
Riverwood chose the Perry area for
new plants.
Construction of Interstate 75
opened up many job opportunities
in Macon for Perry residents. It also
opened up the opportunity for
Macon residents to move away from
City of Perry 175th Birthday, Nov. 17, 1999, Houston Home Journal
The celebration:
Nov. 19,2 p.m., Perry CHy Hall.
Activities include music by Perry
High School band, speech by
6a. Gov. Roy Barnes, cutting the
birthday cake and tours of the
new Perry CHy Hall.
the larger city to live in a smaller
community while commuting to
and from their work site.
As advanced technology began to
filter into the work place, job
descriptions began to change and an
ever increasing number of workers
with computer skills were needed by
area industry and business. This
technological revolution in the
workplace attracted younger workers
and soon it was evident in Perry that
more and more young married cou
ples were moving into the communi
ty fulfilling the dream of many busi
ness and civic leaders that we would
be able to offer the types of jobs that
would, in fact, make it possible for
young people to return to their
home town and find employment.
With the opening of Interstate
75, another interesting sociological
change began taking place. The new
interstate brought about many new
motels and Perry was once again the
“crossroads of Georgia” and a conve
nient stopover from Florida to
Michigan, particularly for those
older person who were retired.
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The area appealed to the retired
traveler and soon it was evident that
large numbers of them were spend
ing more and more time in and
around Perry. The small town
atmosphere, along with the progres
sive thinking of the community
leaders, appealed tot he retired per
son who was considering a change of
residence. As a result, the City of
Perry has become home to a large
number of retired persons changing
the demographics in a most dramat
ic way.
And so, what does all this mean
to the City of Perry?
It mans that the population base
of the community will, in all likeli
hood, be more stable than at any
time in its long and illustrious histo
ry. Job opportunities for the younger
worker will be more abundant than
ever before. More professionals will
be needed to meet the needs of a
growing population. High tech
industries will continue to be attract
ed to the area because of the expand
ing role of robins Air force Base and
the related satellite industries.
Reasonable housing and a moderate
cost of living will continue to attract
individuals looking for a safe envi
ronment to spend their retirement
years.
As our community gets ready to
celebrate its 175th birthday, we need
to take a look back to see where
we’ve been and to use those experi
ences to prepare for the future - for
the future is now.
5B