PCA Office and Dr. W. J. Perry, Dr. William L. Perry, and Dr. Jerry B. Perry Office
Bank of Chesterfield
Hough Insurance Agency
|
|
Dr. William Perry: This building was constructed by Mr. J. A. Welsh, Sr. The location consisted of two office areas: Hall Odom and the PCA offices occupied the left front of the building, and a long hall led to the rear of the building which housed the office of Dr. William Joel Perry (frequently referred to as “Old Dr. Perry”).
Dr. Perry established his practice in the town of Chesterfield in 1905. At that time he was located in the rear of the Chesterfield Drug Store. Dr. Perry moved his office to this location and was in practice at this site when his son, Dr. William L. Perry, joined the practice in 1940. The office was hardly large enough for one doctor, much less two. At that time separate waiting and examining rooms were maintained for minority patients. The price of an office visit was $2.00, and the price of an assisted delivery was $20.00. The medical practice continued at this location until 1954. Dr. Jerry B. Perry joined the practice in 1949. Jerry insisted that we consider a larger place so that we could perform what was known as in-hospital deliveries. It was at this time that we considered several sites for a new office. One site was the vacant lot by the William Craig house, but we felt that it did not offer enough parking area. Our mother gave us the property on which The Perry Clinic was built in 1954.
Dr. W. J. Perry was forced to retire in 1944 because of health problems, but he did live to see the Perry Clinic at the corner of Buchanan and West Boulevard come into fruition. Dr. W. J. Perry died six months after the Open House for the new clinic was held.
William Thurman: Susan Bittle recalled the following persons who directed the PCA (Production Credit Association): George Eddins might have been a director prior to 1939; Willie Eddins; Minor Hough; and Hall Odom. When the office moved to Green Street in 1957, the directors were Hall Odom and Jim Beck. The office moved to the west end of Main Street in 1980 when Sam Ingram was director. The office was closed in 1988.
Elizabeth Ann Gaddy Rivers: While he was still an officer at the Bank of Chesterfield, W. A. "Bubba" Hough started Hough Insurance Agency in 1940. At his death in 1965, his son, W. E. "Bill" Hough, returned to Chesterfield and took over the business. In 1992, Bill's younger son, Robert Austin Hough, joined the agency and in early 2003 bought the business from his father. Later that year he bought the former First Citizens branch bank on on the west end of Main Street and relocated the agency to that site.
|