I have great memories of Fulton’s Dizzy Block, a section of our downtown that was bordered by South First and Second Streets, and Oneida and Cayuga Streets. For decades, not only Fultonians but also folks from surrounding rural areas and small towns would make an event of visiting the many stores welcoming them. Within that block area you could buy clothes, jewelry and watches, school and sporting supplies, furniture and so much more. Then, after a busy few hours of shopping, you could treat yourself to a cup of coffee, a sandwich or an ice cream at popular places like Perkins Corner.

Recently, I talked with Don and Debbie Perkins, who are cousins with familial ties to Perkins Corner. Their grandfather was Leo H. Perkins, who purchased an existing cigar and tobacco store on the corner of South Second and Oneida Streets in 1918. Leo and his wife, Sarah, had three boys: Debbie’s father, Bob; Don’s father, George; and Paul. A few months ago, Don posted a memory of Perkins Corner on Facebook and I contacted him. He shared some newspaper clippings that helped me piece together the history of Perkins Corner.

Leo’s new business got started with a November 13, 1918, advertisement in the Fulton Patriot: “I have taken over the Cigar, Cigarette and General Tobacco Business of the late Horace Sylvester at 6. S. Second Street and will be pleased to meet all old patrons as well as new ones,” announced Perkins. Don provided a little more information about their Grandfather Leo’s life prior to the purchase of the store.

“He was raised by his grandfather, George B. Perkins, who owned a business known as Perkins Wagon Works. It was on South First Street and repaired wagons. He did things like change the wagon wheels to sled blades for winter. Our Grandfather Leo worked with his grandfather some and then he was employed at the Fulton Post office before he bought the tobacco store.”

In those early years, the store was not known as Perkins Corner. In a December 19, 1935, Fulton Patriot ad, the business was listed as “L. E. Perkins.” (It is unclear why Leo’s middle initial was written as E and not H.) At that time, the store specialized in tobacco products, with a 1936 ad mentioning “pipes, cigarettes [and] pouches for men.” There was some variety, though; the ad also mentioned “packaged candies for her and sporting goods for the outdoor boy’s gift.”

The store managed to thrive for decades, despite facing challenges. First, Leo, who’d been suffering from heart ailments for some time, died in March of 1943. According to his obituary, he worked right up until a few days before his passing. During the World War II years, all three of the Perkins brothers were in the military, but the store remained open, as Debbie explained. “Helen, Paul’s wife, and Bev, my mother, ran the store during the war. At one point, my mother even sold costume jewelry there.”

Indeed, an October 23, 1947, Fulton Patriot ad announced the opening of “Bev’s Jewelry.” This feature of the Perkins’ store was active on and off for years. A March 3, 1955, Valley News ad announced that “Bev’s Jewelry was Reopening.” And, over the years, the store continued to diversify what visitors could purchase there. “Along with cigars and cigarettes, Perkins sold newspapers, Golden books, Russell Stover candy and magazines,” Debbie said. “You could have a tuna or egg salad sandwich with ruffle potato chips and three little bread and butter pickle slices…and, if you liked, a side of potato or macaroni salad along with a cup of Campbell’s soup. Eventually a hot dog steamer added to the options.” “People have said that it was like a drug store without the drugs,” Don added.

By the late 1940s, the store had adopted a new name: Perkins Corner. In Fulton’s 1949 City Directory, Perkins Corner was listed as a business for “ice cream, sporting goods and smokers supplies.”

Both Don and Debbie had memories of being in the store as children. They described the black and white flooring tiles. There was a jukebox. Don remembers, “My brother Richard and I worked behind the soda fountain when we came to Fulton to visit. It was sunk down a little lower than the counter. People loved the hot fudge. Our pay was whatever ice cream concoction we could make. I ate so much ice cream that I got sick.”

Debbie mentioned that her father employed many high school students. Here’s another Perkins Corner memory, this one I heard years ago from Dennis Casey, who worked at several Dizzy Block stores, including Perkins when he was younger. “We had a popcorn machine at Perkins, and in the summer, around 6 or 7 pm, I’d roll it out on the street and start popping corn. Its smell would drift down the street and bring people in. Those who were heading to the drive-in would stop and pick some up. It was 10 cents for a small bag, 25 cents for a large.”

For many who grew up during the Dizzy Block years, Perkins Corner filled our senses with memories. Visit any online social media site commemorating Fulton history and you’ll find Perkins Corner stories. Nan Walsh Jacobson posted that her grandfather was a press operator for the Fulton Patriot, with its offices across the street from Perkins Corner. Nan worked the night before the paper came out to fold the two sections together and insert the ads. “I always ran over to Perkins to pick up something to eat for my grandfather. I remember the smell of the food when I walked in the door.”

Perkins Corner remained a destination until the early 1970s, when Urban Renewal changed the landscape of our downtown. An April 1974 Palladium-Times article reported that Fulton’s Canalview Urban Renewal project would include the construction of the new Columbia Savings Bank’s innovative “bank in the round” to be built in the site of the former Perkins Corner establishment.

That building still stands, although it is no longer a bank. Some days, when I’m sitting at the stoplight on the corner of Oneida and South Second Street, I like to close my eyes just for a moment and remember those good old days of ten cent popcorn, a dime in the jukebox to call up a favorite tune, and a spin on one of the Perkins Corner stools, waiting for my hot fudge sundae.