Then and Now

The Clark Rice Collection contains a multitude of photographs, showing both people and places from Perry's past. When I first looked at the images, they evoked a strange sort of existential loss: every time a shutter clicked, that moment still had had a future, but now I was experiencing them at a time when their futures had been realized. Most people in the pictures had likely passed; many of the places had faded from memory. The photographs themselves began to feel unnatural. What a strange thing it is to see people in the midst of their daily lives, knowing that those lives are likely over. The two images below are separated by perhaps twenty or thirty years. Already, though, across just a couple of decades the Cutting Room machinery has been converted to electricity and workers have moved on. All that persists is the place.

This was the first building I photographed, mainly because it was the most instantly recognizable one of the bunch: a former bank that is now Perry's Town Hall. After I took this picture, I went inside the building and spoke to the Town Clerk, Sarah. She was able to point me in the right direction by providing a map marked with the locations of other buildings I was looking for. Sarah was a huge help to me; without her knowledge I likely wouldn't have been able to find them.

Next I went to the Biblio-Tech Cafe, a store that sells books, comics, and coffee. It has been a retail location since the early 20th century: first the Perry Dry Goods Company, then in 1911 Royce & Wright's department store, then in 1949 Rockwell-Perry. The Clark Rice photograph of the department store was actually taken on the second floor, but I was not able to access it and settled for a picture of the downstairs.

A few doors down from Biblio-Tech Cafe is where Decker's Confectionary used to be. For many years it had been known as Mirras'--through four different owners--until purchased by Royal Decker in 1952. Currently there is another diner called the Country Kitchen back by the town hall, where I actually stopped for lunch after taking some photos.

Just off of Main Street and a little uphill on Covington Street, I walked past a bowling alley. It had been constructed in 1917 by two business partners who ran a Ford dealership. They retired in 1925, and it was operated by various owners until 1940, when the local Rotary Club converted it into the Perry Bowling Center--in part to give young residents wholesome social opportunities. The building seems to maintain a good deal of its original form but at the same time feels a little less interesting. The original brick pattern is gone and has been covered by a more modern design of brick and vinyl siding.

This building is actually on the outskirts of the town of Perry. It was  built during the 1950s  for a local contractor named Bob Brooks. In 1957 it was leased and remodeled by the Perry Knitting Company for use as an outlet store for its Nitey Nites sleepwear. In the window you can see mannequins modeling Nitey Nites for various ages. The building now is used by Sweet Sarah's as an ice cream, dessert, and lunch stop.

The next place I tried to locate was the buildings of the Perry Knitting Company. Above is an image from a postcard with a picture of the mills and power house by Silver Lake Outlet. Although I am not sure about the specifics, I visited a building close to this specific area on the bank of the river. Parking along the side of a hill above the Outlet, I climbed down the bank and went inside a crumbling structure. I was a little nervous that the building might collapse, so I got a quick photo and climbed back out. This is one of the partially remaining buildings from the Perry Knitting Company. But not all in such disarray. Ironically, although the five main mills have been demolished a brick warehouse built in 1939--during the Great Depression--still is standing and has been adapted for use as apartments.

Where does this leave us? Although these photographs are innately interesting, what larger idea is beneath the surface? What we see from them is the way in which the town of Perry has changed and evolved. It is all too easy to slip into a mindset of romanticizing the past; we should use the photos as a tool to learn from and grow from, not as a model of completion. As I walked around the town of Perry taking things in, I realized more and more that it has a very promising future and present. While the absence of a major industry like the PK has weakened its financial backbone, there are many thriving small businesses which are supported by the community of Perry. In Wayland, a distant neighbor of Perry (and my home town), the few businesses we have would fail completely if not for the patronage of the local community. I expect that this must be the same in Perry, and it likely has been this way since the early days of the PK. The photographs show that small business has not been erased, it has simply changed or evolved into different one. In this way the town of Perry is not completely different from what it once was: a small town filled with a variety of small businesses, supported by a close knit community. The Perry Knitting Company was sustained by the people of Perry in the same way that the town of Perry and its businesses today are being sustained by the people. People are the heart of Perry and its history.