SW Iowa Times

Shenandoah Chamber and Industry Association issued the following announcement on Oct. 17. 

Everly Brothers Childhood Home at 800 W. Sheridan Avenue will unveil its new digital touch screen display at a Shenandoah Chamber & Industry Association coffee Wednesday October 21 at 10 a.m. Demos of the terminal will continue in open house fashion until 12:30 p.m. 

     Doors will be open for ventilation. Masks are requested where social distancing is not possible and beverages served will be bottled or capped. The event will be postponed if inclement weather is a factor.

     Contributors to the cost of the touch screen unit will be recognized. The Ed May Family, Wal-Mart and countless fans and other businesses who have supported concert fundraising efforts will be thanked by Everly Brothers Foundation head Bill Hillman. In addition Swift Services is providing a internet connection with Andy Dinges tech support. 

     The unit is over six feet tall and displays videos, archived photos, popup museum displays from Winter Dance Party in Clear Lake and Everly Heritage Days in Shenandoah, music and more. Displays and videos will continue to be added over time.  They hope to add soon videos of the 1986 Everly Homecoming event and concert so everyone can relive that epic time in Shenandoah.

      “It provides a visual for all the items and photos in our historical collection that we don’t have room for in the house,” said Shelly Warner, Marketing Director for Shenandoah Chamber & Industry Association. “This is a goal we have achieved after years of fundraising. It will be fun for fans to see our collection of photos and the documentary film we made about the history of the Everly family in Shenandoah. The childhood home is one of our top tourism attractions in Shenandoah.” 

    The Everly Brothers story in Shenandoah is featured in a 10 page article in The Iowan magazine’s September/October issue. It is available to read at the Shenandoah Public Library. It credits Shenandoah’s live radio and that important experience for the Everly family as the basis for their rise to fame in the music industry. 

     In the article author Don McLeese writes, “Regulars on the radio before they became teenagers, the Everly Brothers entered their adolescence as show business professionals, seasoned and disciplined. Though neither of them had been born in Iowa, Shenandoah was where they came of age, the place the family lived longest through these formative years. And it was the place where they would develop the instinctive, intuitive harmonies that would soon push them toward the top of the Top 40, establishing their lasting legacy among the seminal artists of rock and roll.”

     Sheryl Davis, a contracted consultant for the Everly Brothers Childhood Home will also be honored on October 21. She is receiving the Iowa Museum Association Rising Star Award for her work on the Everly Home attraction in Shenandoah. The Iowa Museum Association Rising Star Award is intended to recognize individuals who have worked or volunteered in the Iowa museum field for 3-8 years and have helped their museum broaden its audience through engagement activities.

     Bill Hillman observed, “Sheryl's hard work in organizing and in tourism development to assist the Everly Home was essential for the organization to move forward and become an important historical site. Her vision and development of ideas including social media, marketing, advertising, fundraising, and setting up special events was critical to progressing forward.”

     The mission of the Everly Brothers Childhood Home Foundation is to honor and remember the Everly Brothers, preserving their Shenandoah history, keeping their music alive with events and concerts held annually. For more information about the Everly Home or to schedule a tour, contact SCIA at chamber@shenandoahiowa.net, 712-246-3455 or the Depot Restaurant 712-246-4444.

Original source can be found here.

Source: Shenandoah Chamber and Industry Association