Aug 23
The History of PIP: 'Pride In Perry'
Aug 23
Someone recently posted in the 'I Grew Up In Perry-dise Facebook page of a photo of a PIP "Pride In Perry" sticker they found.
I thought I'd do a quick little blog post on the history of the Pride In Perry movement in Perry, NY, which actually started in 1979.
However, I'll throw in this little tidbit before we get to that more recent history. Oddly, the ACTUAL first mention of Pride in Perry was in the Jan 2, 1929 issue of the Perry Herald. The author wanted to stress that Perry could grow if everyone followed four tenets. They were:
1-Put some of your money in Perry real estate.
2-Speak a good word for Perry.
3-Trade in Perry.
4-Own a home in Perry.
What applied in 1929 just might be good advice for us in 2024, perhaps?
Here it is:
The very first mention of Pride In Perry as the PIP movement was published in the April 13, 1979 issue of the Perry Herald, and was a cartoon featuring 'PIP Weatherby':
Then, in the April 27, 1979 issue of the Perry Herald, more info was provided on the movement:
It is unclear as to which organization was responsible for starting the PIP movement. However, from my research, it sounds as if it was a joint effort between the Perry Chamber of Commerce, the Perry Rotary Club, and the Village of Perry. There are three people mentioned as promoting the program in the community at that time: Russ Clark, Kathy Andolina, and Terry Murphy.
Russ Clark was president of the Rotary Club in 1979, Kathy Andolina was the president of the Perry Chamber of Commerce in 1979, and Terry Murphy was the Mayor of the Village of Perry in 1979. I have yet to look in the historian's files in the Town of Perry office to see if there is any extra information, and will add to this blog if I find anything. UPDATE: I did search the historian's files at the Town Hall and could not find any additional info.
In addition, if anyone in the community has written proof/inside knowledge of which organization was responsible, if it was not a collaboration of the ones mentioned, I would appreciate the information so that I can add it here as well.
From the rest of the article in the April 27, 1979 issue of the Herald, it is mentioned that Russ Clark was the chairman of the organization:
Here is mention of Kathy Andolina and Terry Murphy promoting the PIP movement at a Tuesday Club meeting in May of 1979:
Many organizations participated in the PIP movement: Boy Scouts, various school groups, and businesses all joined in. Someone in the Facebook post mentioned remembering the fire hydrants in Perry were painted. I do remember that as well, and I painted one of them, although I can't for the life of me remember how I painted mine.
However, this occurred before the PIP movement, and was done for the bicentennial of the U.S.A in 1976:
I can't leave you hanging; here are the winners of that fire hydrant competition:
Back to PIP: As you can see by page 3 of the Perry Herald on June 22 of 1979, there was an essay contest for the older school students for PIP, and for the elementary grades, a Pride in Perry poster contest as well as a creative writing contest was held with 777 students participating!
The Pride in Perry movement seemed to remain going for a handful of years, and was mentioned off and on thru the 1980's in the Perry Herald. However, entering the 1990's, it is rarely seen from then on in the publication, with only a few mentions over those years.
I too, like a few others, have seen PIP Pride in Perry stickers still lurking in places around Perry. Thankfully there are enough of us who remember this movement well. It was a great idea, and perhaps it should be brought back. To end, I thought I'd put here a poem written by a well known Perry community member, Mike Hughes, who mentions Pride In Perry-PIP. The poem was originally published in the April 8, 1988 edition of the Perry Herald, and was republished again in 2010:
We moved to Perry in '56,
I was only 8 year(s) old –
I listened to my Mom and Dad,
Did just what I was told.
It was kind of easy—way back then
Those naïve, Eisenhower years.
We had Kate Smith and Rin Tin
Tin...
To allay even our simplest fears.
As we kids grew up in the community
We thought we were real big wheels.
We'd drink vanilla phosphates at
Ayers's Drugstore;
And chocolate shakes at Dot and
Neal's.
I grew up and moved away from here.
I wanted to strut my stuff around.
But the things that really gave me joy
Were the memories from this bucolic
little town.
So I moved back to Perry some years
ago,
Not really knowing why –
Except that living here gave me
feelings
That no amount of money could ever
buy.
Well, I celebrated my 40th three
weeks ago,
It's hard to remember...but I think
that's right;
And all my friends sang me a special
song...
It was really an incredibly wonderful
night.
What's neat about a small community
Is that we're not just numbers—we
all have names.
We're together during winter snow
storms;
Share summer sun, at softball games.
You see, we're like one great big
family here;
1...4...5...3...0 is our zip –
We take pride in one another,
Pride in Perry...Yes! We've got
P.I.P.
So thank you, my fellow Perryites,
For letting me turn a line or two.
Allowing me to express myself...
To share this final thought with you.
The sense of friendship that is
nurtured in our community
Has got to make one stop and say:
"Where else would I rather han(g) my
hat –
Than small town Perry...U.S.A."
Mike Hughes
Tags: History
