Eversons proud of downtown Sandusky evolution

SANDUSKY — A downtown Sandusky apartment overlooking Columbus Avenue boasts a stunning Christmas tree and holiday display. It's the creation of the apartment's residents, longtime married couple Terry and Virginia Everson. The husband and wife have lived in that spot, a second-story apartment above Musicians' Alley, for three decades, making them downtown denizens long before the area saw massive commercial and economic revitalization. Terry and Virginia Everson's Christmas tree display at their downtown Sandusky home on Dec. 15, 2022. Register photo/ERIN CALDWELL Living in Sandusky and moving away Terry and Virginia Everson stand in front of their Christmas tree at their home in downtown Sandusky on Dec. 15, 2022. Register photo/ERIN CALDWELL Terry, a Sandusky native, first met his wife Virginia while attending Sandusky High School. Virginia was originally born in West Virginia but moved to Sandusky at the age of 5 as her father was a Boy Scout executive here. Both graduated from the high school in 1960. The couple lived in Columbus while Terry attended Ohio State from 1962 to 1970. They then returned to Sandusky for two years when their first two kids were still relatively young, then to Las Vegas for three years, then back to Columbus where they lived there from 1975 to 1983. Both Terry and Virginia share a love of music. Terry participated in the choir and band in high school, and Virginia took part in the choir, however, Virginia didn't partake much in band or choir after graduating high school. On the other hand, Terry pursued his passions by working with big entertainers back in the 1960s and as a big band drummer for 50 years. One of the biggest acts he performed with was famed jazz trumpeter Doc Severinsen, known for his appearances on "The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson." Then, in the early 1990s, Virginia received news that her parents were no longer in the best health. The news prompted the couple to move back to Sandusky to help care for her parents. At the time, they agreed that they would move back to Columbus after her parents passed away. This agreement quickly fizzled, though, with both realizing that their love for Sandusky grew stronger the longer they stayed here. "After being a part of the hustle and bustle all those years, we knew we wanted to slow down and come back to our home," said Terry, agreeing that they both enjoyed the slower pace. With the move back to Sandusky, they also found themselves reconnecting with old friends from high school and forming new friendships. Before finding their current residence, the couple and their kids were living in a tiny apartment that, they both say, wasn't in the best area. But by good fortune, Terry found a job working for Musicians' Alley from 1992 to 1995. From studio to home During his first summer working there, he recalls hearing upstairs people tumbling, later finding out through a co-worker that their soon-to-be home was The Moving Co.'s School of Dance's studio. "In the spring, you could hear them tumbling, and they had mats set up diagonally across the room, and they would run across the room," Terry said. Fast forward to June, and they could not hear anything coming from the dance studio. June, July and August passed with no noise from upstairs. October came, and still no noise, which he and his co-worker, Mike, found odd. They decided to investigate, only to discover that they had moved out. After discovering the now-empty space, Terry thought it would make a great recording studio as all of Terry's recording equipment was packed into a corner of his and Virginia's tiny apartment. Terry then went home to inform his wife, deciding to show her the upstairs space. But when Virginia saw the space, she exclaimed that, "This would make a great apartment." They both agreed and decided to take funds that were given to Terry from his mother's estate after her passing, which allowed Terry and Virginia to convert it into a "proper apartment." Renovations "We had to put in a tub room, a bigger water heater and a kitchen," Terry said. "We also removed the bar used for ballet and the full-length mirrors on the back wall." One of Terry's fondest memories in the apartment was when he had the Monroe School choir visit — he was asked to write a special song for the 100th anniversary of the Monroe School — and with the apartment only containing one bathroom and 46 kids in attendance he jokingly said, "It knocked off at least 20 minutes of rehearsal time as all the kids needed to go to the bathroom at once." With the move to downtown Sandusky came with a list of pros and cons, neighbor and longtime friend, Ann Wesself said. "They moved here when downtown was not the cool place to be," she said. A rebirth For 150 years, the downtown business district was the premiere business district in the four-county area. It included anchor stores, such as Sears, JCPenney, Smith Hardware, restaurants, shoe stores, small fashion boutiques, banks and other business interests. Beginning in the 1950s, however, some businesses began moving outside the downtown district, including what was then the new Sandusky Plaza on Cleveland Road (U.S. 6), Perkins Plaza on Perkins Avenue and finally the Sandusky Mall on Milan Road (U.S. 250), which opened in 1977. From roughly 1975 to the early 2000s, the downtown district suffered from underutilization, blight and a lack of strategic vision. In the mid-2000s, the former Hinde & Dauch Paper Co. transformed into luxury condos, the Chesapeake Lofts, launching a renaissance where investors began purchasing buildings at bargain prices. Restaurants opened, and residences were made available on second and third floors of downtown buildings. Among the more recent downtown developments include Jackson Street Pier, Water Street Lofts, City Hall, Bowling Green State University's and Cedar Fair's brick-and-mortar resort and attraction management postsecondary institution along with many other small businesses popping up these past few years. Early days Terry and Virginia soon learned that with the downtown comes a bit of ruckus. They both recall it being deafening at times, as the old building across the street had multiple "rock groups" that would practice late into the night with all the windows open. Fights broke out on the weekends, including a shooting in front of the Sandusky State Theatre that involved at least 40 people in the early 1990s. "Within two minutes, at least 20 cop cars from Sandusky, Perkins, border and highway patrol and even the sheriff lined the street," Terry said. Despite all the commotion at the time, Terry and Virginia are happy to call downtown home as they say it has calmed down so much since then. A view of Terry and Virginia Everson's Christmas tree from Columbus Avenue in downtown Sandusky. Register photo/ERIN CALDWELL Christmas display Over the past 30 years, both Terry and Virginia prided themselves in their elaborate yet fun Christmas decorations. One set of decorations, in particular, pay homage to Terry's love of drums A drummer boy nutcracker is part of a Christmas display at Terry and Virginia Everson's downtown Sandusky home on Dec. 15, 2022. Register photo/ERIN CALDWELL In the living room, Terry has acquired over 1,000 drum and drummer boy ornaments that he has strategically hung from their ceiling. With so many precious ornaments to hang up, Terry made a map of sorts to help make sure all of them were in their proper section. The real showstopper is their Christmas tree, with over 11 strands of plain and multi-colored lights carefully weaved into the tree, which features silver tinsel that lightly drapes over the entire tree and colorful houses that sit under it on a makeshift tree stand. "We both find it fun to decorate and are happy to share that love with others," Virginia said. The couple encourages those who wish to see the tree to come and walk by Musicians' Alley at night to see it in full effect.