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Hello readers and welcome back to the Hometown Heritage Blog! Summer Break is finally upon us and with it comes bored kids looking for something to do. There are many activities that kids like to do to pass the time, including sports, video games, and playing with other toys. However, there is one summer activity that appears to be a long standing tradition for children everywhere: a summer reading program! It seems that the summer reading program has had a long history in Perry. The earliest photos in our collection that pertain to the summer reading program date back to 1966: 51 years ago! The photo showing two kids, Kay and Bobby Kidney, getting prizes from the librarian at the time, Louise Fullhart, for reading 30 books that summer. Another photo, this time from 1968, shows Louise Fullhart once again. This time she is with her husband, Frank Fullhart, who was there to tell the children stories about his railroad days. The interesting thing about this photo is that it is taken somewhere in the Carnegie Library which is, of course, our current home. However, although now the Children’s Room, or Room of Wonder, is upstairs, back in the 1960s it was moved downstairs to where the Courtroom is now. It looks quite different from this picture! Gone are the bookcases and curtains to be replaced with the current Courtroom furniture. It would have been interesting for me to see what the whole room looked like compared to now. It seems like the children of Perry have been enjoying a reading program for a long time, and they will continue to enjoy it in the years to come. In fact, the reading program for this summer starts soon with Kids Fest this weekend! Although it is hosted by the Perry Public Library, we will also be taking part in Kids Fest. Here at the Carnegie Library Museum kids will partake in a scavenger hunt to find some historic photos. Perhaps I’ll see you there readers, and come back next week for another Hometown Heritage blog!
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 Hello readers and welcome back to the Hometown Heritage Blog!
Today will be a special blog about a very important upcoming holiday: Mother’s Day! (You are welcome those who forgot, better go find a gift now!) Mother’s Day is, of course, a day to celebrate the mothers of the world. Surprisingly, here at Hometown Heritage we only have one picture that is listed under “Mother’s Day”. The picture is of Mary Anderson and her daughter Virginia Anderson O”Malley. It was taken on Mother’s Day back in 1970! Unfortunately, not much else is known of the specifics of this picture. It makes one wonder if Mother’s Day was as commercialized in 1970 as it is today. Did Virginia buy her mother a card and some flowers, or was it enough to simply spend the day with her? From the picture, it seems like they must have spent the day together somewhere but it is unknown where exactly the picture was taken. Looking at the photo, it makes me wonder why Virginia is holding a stack of paper in her hands. Could these be some kind of gift to her mother, or is it the other way around, something that her mother gave her? In either case, it is nice to see that they got to spend time together on Mother’s Day! What are you doing for Mother’s Day readers? Let us know in the comments, and join us next week for another Hometown Heritage Blog! Also, don’t forget that May 20th is the All About Bacon event! The number of tickets is limited, so make sure to come by and get some here at the Carnegie Library Museum while you can!  Hello readers and welcome back to the Hometown Heritage blog!
As many of you know, Perry is a town that flourished because of the railroad. The railroad was so prevalent here that we have many photographs in our collection that show the trains, the tracks, and more. In fact, Perry used to have so many trains that came in and out of town that we had our own roundhouse! Although the number of roundhouses is not clear from our records, we do know that one roundhouse used to be located where the elementary school is currently. What is interesting about the roundhouse, however, is that it was not just used as a place to gather trains! Readers, do you have any guesses as to what else might have happened at the old roundhouse? If you guessed that people used to go skeet shooting at the roundhouse, then you would be right! According to the description of this photo, people would go out on Sundays and meet at the roundhouse where they would do some skeet shooting in the 1940s. What amazes me most about this is that guns were allowed so close to a place of work. If the shooters were fooling around too much, they could have injured one of the railroad workers! Perhaps this was allowed because the workers were not working during Sundays? Or maybe the railroad workers were in on it and allowed people to do this without the consent of the managers. It seems only someone who was there would know! In any case, it looks like this is what people would do for fun during the 1940s. Readers, what do you do for fun on the weekends? Let us know in the comments, and join us next week for another Hometown Heritage Blog! Hello readers and welcome back to the Hometown Heritage blog! This morning I was watching the television while eating my breakfast, as I always do, and a segment came on about a new prototype car that was recently finished. This car, called the Hum-X for those interested, was special in that it could employ hydraulics to raise itself into the air and pass over other cars in traffic. This got me thinking about that today cars are everywhere and, aside from new ones like this, are no longer that amazing to us. However, this was not always the case. Look at the slide show below. As you can see, they are all pictures of people standing next to various cars. “What is so special about that” you might ask. That, my dear readers, is exactly my point. Today, we all take cars for granted and understand (generally) how they work. However, imagine just for a moment that you were living back in the late 1800s and early 1900s with these people. You are used to getting around via horseback or walking, and suddenly this metal mechanical marvel (or devil, depending on whom you ask) appears. It goes just as fast as any horse you have ever known and it never gets tired! Also buying one costs probably the same amount as a small house, yet somehow your father managed to bring one home. What else would you do but take a picture to mark this momentous occasion! Everyone will want to be able to remember the day your family first got its very own Model T. Yet, compared to today, no one seems to be as excited about his or her first car. Sure, teenagers get excited when their parents present them with the keys, but it is not the same kind of excitement as it was in the 1900s. Back then, it was something to parade about the whole town, showing all your friends and neighbors how lucky and wealthy your family is. Today it is something everyone simply expects to happen. Who knows, maybe in the future we will react to new invention as people in the 1900s did (fingers crossed for flying cars!). Do you remember your first car? Did you and your family all take pictures around it to mark the occasion? Let us know in the comments, and come back next week for another Hometown Heritage blog!  Hello readers and welcome back to the Hometown Heritage Blog!
Yesterday was Valentine’s day, so happy late Valentine’s and Discounted Chocolate Day! Speaking of Valentine’s Day, I am sure many of you remember making Valentine’s cards for people in your school while growing up. It was a big day depending on how much candy you got in return. However, did you know that even way back in the 90s? Take a look at the picture here, it is titled “Grant School Denison Club Making Valentines”. Can you guess when this picture was taken? The clothes might be a hint, both of the boys are wearing overalls, and the girls have old-fashioned dresses. Another hint is the board in the background; it is a chalk-board, not a whiteboard! Have you guessed yet? The answer is 1938! It seems amazing that even almost 80 years ago people and kids were already making Valentine’s Day cards. It makes one wonder about when Valentine’s became a monetized holiday! The original reason for Valentine’s Day was in remembrance of Saint Valentine. If you do not know why there is a day for remembrance of him, I suggest you look it up, as it gives quite a different meaning to the holiday. Anyway, I hope that you readers had a good Valentine’s Day! Did you do anything special to mark the occasion? Let us know in the comments, have a happy Discount Chocolate Day today, and come back next time for more interesting stories and pictures of History from our collection!  Hello and welcome back to the Hometown Heritage blog!
Today I found something interesting about Perry that many of you might not know. If you grew up in Perry, or raised kids here, you know that Perry has many different buildings used as schools. There is the Elementary School near the Recreation Center, St. Pat’s School, and the connected Middle School and High School. However, did you know that there used to be another school building? Before you say something like “of course I did, they only demolished it recently silly”, the old High School that they recently demolished and are turning the grounds into a nursing home is not the school I am referencing. There is actually a second school in Perry that no longer exists! This second school was demolished in February 1967, so it makes sense that many of you probably do not even know that it existed. Called the “Willard School”, it was built in 1900 at the Northeast corner of Seventh and Lucinda. It was primarily a school for young children, as it did not go past sixth grade. The Willard School was used for school purposes until 1940, when it was then converted to a youth recreation center due to disrepair until its demolishing 27 years later. Unfortunately, this is as far as the story goes in our catalogue. Why was an active school allowed to fall into disrepair? Why did Perry need so many school buildings? Who was Willard and why did he have his own school? These are just some of the questions that plague the mind concerning this school. We do not even know why it was eventually demolished, although it can be assumed that it was due to a continuing state of disrepair. If any of you readers have any more information on the Willard School, we would love to hear it! Adding new information to our records is always welcome and ensures future generations will be able to learn about the town they live in, so do not be afraid to leave a comment with your thoughts or extra facts!  Happy Holidays readers and welcome back to the Hometown Heritage blog!
Christmas is right around the corner, so I hope that you have your gifts wrapped and trees decorated! Speaking of trees, we have many pictures of Christmas trees in our collection. Most are the standard kind of family picture with everyone grouped around the tree, smiling for the camera. Some of the pictures, however, are quite a bit different. One of my favorite different Christmas tree pictures is titled “Bullock Child” and is a photo from 1926. As you can see, this photo is a simple one with a child sitting in front of a Christmas tree. What makes it stand out to me, however, is that the tree is unbelievably sparse! It bears a striking resemblance to the tree in A Charlie Brown Christmas, with the thin branches and almost non-existent needles. It makes you wonder why this family has such a sad looking tree. Did the area where they lived not have enough trees to go around? Did the family not have enough money to buy a tree? They seem to have been able to decorate it and provide gifts for everyone, as the boy is playing with something underneath the tree. Perhaps they spent too much money on decorations and presents. It might even be possible that they had an unfortunate accident with the tree, where all the needles fell off on the way home. We may never know the real reason, but it is fun to speculate. Do you have any memories of a sad Christmas tree? Let us know in the comments, and have a good holiday season readers! Hello readers and welcome back to the Hometown Heritage blog! Today we got a new donation of some old photos showing an interesting little café that used to exist here in Perry. The café was called the “Arcade Café”, and it appears to have been owned (or at least primarily operated by) George and Merle Watson. The photos, as you can see, show a nice little café that appears to have been very popular. The booths are full, the tables are full, even the counter in one photo is surrounded by people. In one photo you can see a sign that reads telephone, which must lead to a small area where the telephone booth was located (this place reminds me of the café scene in the movie Back to the Future). Overall, it looks like the café used to be quite the place to eat in Perry! Now, some of you may be asking yourself “These are just ordinary photos of a café, why are they interesting at all?” Perhaps some of you may have already deduced the answer, which is that these photos may be of the same café, but they are not taken in the same building. One photo, which shows the telephone sign, is actually taken at the old location of the café. This location is 1109 2nd Avenue, in what people used to call the Wimmer Building. The other two photos were taken at the café’s new location on Willis Avenue, where Vivi Nails is now located. Today, many people call this the “Arcade Building.” Perhaps it is called this because it used to be the location of the Arcade Café? If you have any more information about the Arcade Café, or why the building is now called the Arcade, please let us know in the comments!  Hello Readers and welcome back to the Hometown Heritage blog!
The McCreary Community Building is Perry’s place to be for swimming, exercising, and more. But did you know that it wasn’t always the place to be? In fact, it appears that there was a chance it might not even have been constructed! As you can see in the picture, here in our collection we have a sign that reads, “Vote yes Perry Civic Recreation Center”. As we know now, the vote passed, but at the time, it looks like the decision was not easy! There must have been some people in Perry who did not like the idea of building a new Civic Recreation Center. Maybe they did not want to pay a new tax that was going to be implemented in order to build a new building? Perhaps someone thought that what Perry had already was good enough? In any case, someone felt the need to convince people in Perry that a new Recreation center was something Perry needed. Unfortunately, we do not know the date for this sign, so it might pre-date the McCreary Center by many years. If you remember seeing a sign like this, please let us know when! We are always looking to add more information to improve our collection. Also, some of you may be wondering what was in Perry before the McCreary Center. If you are, come back next week and find out!  Hello and welcome back to the Hometown Heritage Blog readers!
As many of you know, Perry used to be a big place for trains. We used to have the Interurban Railroad, a roundhouse, and more. The trains would transport people and goods back and forth along the tracks; but what would happen when a train came off the tracks? Would it still be useful? Many of you may be surprised to know that the answer is yes! Recently I found a very peculiar picture that was taken around 1945 on the farm of Carl Hansen. As you can see, there is a steam engine that looks very strange. Apparently, what has happened is that Carl has converted the engine into a hay thrasher. He did this by changing the wheels of the train so that it no longer needed tracks and could drive freely. He also most likely attached something to the back of the engine that would do the thrashing. What really gets me thinking, however, is how Carl got the engine to his farm in the first place! Did he modify it at the train station, or did he find a way to drag it all the way to his farm? Perhaps the answer lies in the strange belt that is attached to the engine that goes out of frame? We may never know. Before I go, I want to mention that last night we had a great Opening Reception for the Gary Ernest Smith Exhibition! Do not fret if you missed your chance to come and get a tour, as we will have more introductory tours on September 1, from 4:30 to 6:30 P.M. at the Hotel Pattee. Also in September there is a big event happening on the 22nd here in Perry. That night starting at 6:30 P.M., Dr. Pam Jenkins will be in town giving a lecture related to the art, and Gary Ernest Smith himself will be here to give an art walk! Mark it on your calendars now! |
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This website is possible with the support of the
Dallas County Foundation
This website is possible with the support of the
Dallas County Foundation