The dynamic duo of the Cass County Genealogical Society
Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound……look up in the sky…it’s a bird, it’s a plane no it’s…… These famous few lines are very familiar to most of us as the introduction of the very popular Superman! But there is a couple that can be just as famous in Cass County IF their secret identities continue after this publication.
They are Charlotte and Evan Evans and are the backbone of the Cass County Genealogy Society!
Charlotte Evans has for the last 10 years held the position of President of CCGS. Originally from Minnesota, Charlotte’s family relocated to California where she attended school . She moved to Dallas and opened up a beauty salon and retail center. She met her future husband during this time at a swimming pool at a singles apartment complex.
Charlotte owned/operated the salon/ retail shop for 40 years. They will have been married 52 years this year. Though never having children of their own, they raised several nieces and nephews and helped them get started on their future endeavors.
Evan Evans was born in Pecos, Texas and was born nine months after Pearl Harbor Day. Joining the Navy after graduating high school, the Navy trained him as an aviation electronic technician, and he served as aircrew in a patrol squadron that photographed Russian ships transporting nuclear weapons to Cuba…thus starting the Cuban Missile Crisis.
After leaving the Navy Evan joined Texas Instruments as a maintenance technician. Caught in a lay-off in 1971 Evan went back to school to learn computer engineering. While going to school Evan worked as an apartment maintenance man for free rent, and it was at this time that he met his bride-to-be Charlotte.
Upon graduation Evan married Charlotte and went to work for his first of many small electronic /computer companies in the Dallas aera. Evan worked as an engineer and helped with marketing for these small companies. Evan holds 12 patents for circuit board production equipment, software, and processes. These companies also tasked him to attend trade expos across the U. S., and around the world explaining the company’s products, and attributes.
He made sure to have Charlotte accompany him on most of these trips, and they visited a total of 17 Countries and 46 of the 50 states.
In the early 80’s Evan and Charlotte wanted to escape the city, so they purchased a farm in Wise County and commuted to Dallas for work. In the mid 80’s the E.P.A. decided to curtail circuit board production in the United States leaving Evan the choice of moving to Asia or to find a different trade, so he re-invented himself and went to work as the office manager, engineer, and sales man for a garbage truck manufacturer. While with Bridgeport Mfg. Evan designed front, side, and recycling automated loading garbage trucks, designed their web page, and continued his trade show marketing.
In their 20 years in Wise County, Evan and Charlotte provided homes for 11 children off and on, their nieces and nephews, and the children of several of their close friends came to live with them. They found jobs for some of these kids and paid tuition for some of them to go to college, and trade schools. In 2007 Evan retired and he and Charlotte decided to down size. Charlotte and Evan were just looking for a little acreage close to the casinos…. and they found it in little ol’ Cass County! On arrival to Cass County, Charlotte and Evan became members of D.A.R., C.C.G.S., V.F.W.
and the American Legion.
When Charlotte was voted in as President of CCGS, Evan signed on as Corresponding Secretary and has brought his expertise to The Atlanta Library. He designed and implemented the C.C.G.S. web site giving the world access to the indexes of the many C.C.G.S. Genealogy publications. Now anyone can research their family history by accessing the program.
Prior to his arrival, one had to dig through file cabinets and hope they could find their family name. Nowadays Charlotte and Evan spend a lot of their time at the Atlanta Library helping others with their research and are the best ambassadors of C.C.G.S.! Many of those they have helped become members!
Charlotte and Evan wear the capes of superheroes because with these two, there is no obstacle that they cannot speedily resolve, they are more powerful tackling CCGS problems together and they are able to leap over hurdles tracing family history in a single bound.
It’s not a bird nor a plane……it’s Charlotte and Evan Evans…. they do give autographs and please try not to stare at the capes they wear!