40 years ago: Perry’s new shopping center nearly ready

From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for July 10, 1972:

  • Insurance money collected after the old Perry High School had been destroyed by fire on Oct. 20, 1970, had funded the construction of the new Perry Junior High School building. The new building with its open classroom design was attached to the old junior high. The new school housed Perry and Lecompton students who wished to attend the school; plans included its eventual use for all middle-grade students in the Perry-Lecompton school district.
  • Perry was also in line for a new shopping center. The first of the businesses to be located in the new center, which was being developed by N. R .Hamm, were to open in about a month, according to the project supervisor. Included in the shopping center would be a mobile home distributor, a grocery store, and the Bank of Perry.