Former Perdock building has long history in Washington

The JOURNAL

    The former Perdock building that stood for nearly 100 years is now in its twilight. The building has enormous sentimental value to those who worked in it over that span, particularly its former owner Bill Perdock.

    Perdock owned the building for nearly 40 years. He relinquished title to it in 2008 when he sold it to the Marion Avenue Baptist Church, which has held the title since then. Perdock?s history with the building goes back in time more than 40 years, predating his ownership by almost three decades. When Perdock graduated from high school in 1939, the building was known as Tucker-Chevrolet, and owned by Claude Tucker, also known as C.W. Tucker. Perdock went to work there shortly after graduation.

    ?I washed cars for awhile, then I became a mechanic and later I ended up in sales,? he said.

    Perdock enlisted in the military and was away from home for three years in the 1940s. When he returned, he went back to work at Tucker-Chevrolet. He later worked for Cloid Willis, who ran a shop called Willis Motor, located just west of Jones-Eden Funeral Home. By the mid-1950s, he had his own business at that location called Perdock Olds-Cadillac. A few years later, he moved the business to what is now the Red Bear Day Care, but was then owned by Bud Fields, who rented the building to Perdock. In the mid-1960s, Perdock bought the lot on West Washington Street that was known as ?Geb?s Chevrolet,? owned by Dick Gebhart. Perdock maintained ownership of that building for four more decades until his retirement.

    Bob Stirling worked at Tucker-Chevrolet for four years from 1947 to 1951. He was the supervisor of the body shop. He said Claude Tucker hired returning veterans, and it was his job to train them. At that time, businesses that hired veterans received compensation from the government to pay for their training.

    ?I was service manager for three years and I was in sales,? said Stirling. ?Bill Perdock and I sold cars for a year. He was good at what he did. He started on the wash rack, moved up to greasing and waxing, and then got the sales manager job. He was a good manager.?

For the full story, see the Dec. 1 edition of The Washington Evening Journal