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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. GREAT GIFT BOOKS! r A Land So Dedicated: 1 The History of Houston County Second Edition By Bobbe Nelson 328 Pages, tracing the county's history from pre-history to the present and featuring more than 700 illustrations, the 1830 Houston County Census, 1825-1860 Marriage Records and Houton County Confederate Muster Rolls $35 plus $2.45 tax Shipping $5 (includes gift wrapping) [ Recipes from the New Pern Hotel Includes a brief history of the New Perry Hotel and tips for entertaining. Hotel recipes are freatured among the 500 local favorite recipes. $lB plus $1.26 Tax Shipping $3 (includes gift wrapping) 9 For further information, call Bobbe Nelson \ at 987-2834 or e-mail nelsonQusaserve.net / 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