Retirement is a word that doesn’t exist in Perry Cross’s vocabulary. Cross, 85, operates a loan institution.
Working about five days a week isn’t a burden for Cross because he enjoys the people he serves. For Cross, people come before business. He’s always happy to lend a helping hand to his customers.
Cross’s business is second in Albany, only to the barber shop, for chatting about current events in Clinton County. Friends stop by religiously to sit on the many chairs and couches and “chew the fat” about anything from crops to politics.
While the banks in Albany require secured collateral for a loan, the reputations of families who have graced Clinton County for generations are the only security Cross needs. Sometimes outsiders are forced to obtain loans from other loaning institutions, however, they can be bad risks.
Supporting a wife on a monthly teaching paycheck of just $60 could also be a bad risk, so Cross put off marriage until he was 48. Then he met his wife Winnie on a date at a Monticello drug store.
They have two sons, David and Alvin. Alvin is a political writer for the Louisville Courier-Journal.
Smiling proudly with a twinkle in his eye, Cross doesn’t hesitate to profess that Winnie is the best thing that ever happened in his life. She and a work ethic that doesn’t quit are his treasures – things he won’t lend.