Then & Now The Evans Center Origin

Many Grove City seniors enjoy a variety of happenings yearround at the Evans Center in Windsor Park, a fixture of the community for over 40 years. The Center serves as a homebase for exercise and yoga, card and board games, arts and crafts, performing arts, and a variety of enrichment activities that support social, mental, physical and financial health. For example, the “Showstoppers” acting group has performed for the community for more than 30 years.

In 1978, the City received funding from the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) to rehabilitate and expand the Gantz farmhouse to accommodate a new senior center. However, the site was unpopular with local seniors due to its distance from Town Center and limited physical accessibility.

As a result, three alternate locations for the senior center were considered: Sonora Drive off Hoover Road, next to a senior housing development under construction; Hoover Road, where the skate park is located today; and Park

Council Corner

My father, with a sly smile across his face, would often tilt his head slightly and in a very quiet and matter-of-fact manner say to me and my brothers, “Your mom cares more about where the dogs are than where I am.”

Although there might have been a sliver – and I do mean a sliver – of truth to that, the loss of my father was devastating for Mom. She was heartbroken. We all were. Unfortunately, our two senior schnauzers passed away soon after. All at

Street at the current site of the Grove City Safety Complex.

So how did the Evans Center come to be located where it is today?

The City appropriated the northern section of Windsor Park that included access to utilities and a parking lot for the project. The community park, already home to youth baseball, a playground, and other recreational endeavors including the annual community fair, was a popular site with the seniors. Ground was broken for the center in 1981 with funds coming from a federal Housing and Community Development grant administered by MORPC, the City of Grove City and Jackson Township.

The Evans Center celebrated its grand opening Sept. 15, 1982, and the building was named for a staunch supporter of the community, Police Chief E.L. “Lightning” Evans, who died unexpectedly that year.

In 1994, the center was enlarged when an auditorium with a stage, restrooms, and greeting and gaming areas were added on the west side. In 2004, ground was broken on a second expansion that added the fitness and craft rooms, offices and storage space. In 2021, the center underwent a significant renovation that included opening the lobby area for easier movement through the building.

For more information about the Evans Center, call 614-277-1060 or stop in 4330 Dudley Ave.

Happy Jet, Happy Mom

once, heaven gained three angels and our suffering was palpable.

Cue my brother Art, who found “Jet” – a black six-year-old schnauzer with fearless written all over her and “oh so cute.” It was love at first sight and Mom and Jet have been inseparable since.

Over the last eight years, Mom has been through knee replacement, heart and kidney issues, and isolation due to COVID. However, through the surgeries, the hospital and rehab stays, Mom was determined Jet would be well taken care of. That is – Jet was fed on time; slept well (with one of us), and exercised consistently. It was “all Jet, all the time,” then when Mom was well, she came back to her home and routine with Jet.

You can imagine this vignette on an uneventful day… Mom making the bed and gently chatting with Jet about their day.

What will they do next? You can see the love connection. My Mom plus Jet makes an ordinary day – extraordinary. Current studies show that people with canine companions are more likely to practice heart-healthy lifestyle habits such as exercise, and Mom is no exception. She moves to keep up with Jet and lifts her carefully into her own chair. Canine ownership comes with exercise and often rewarded kindly with pup kisses, snuggling, and a dose of heart-healthy laughter.

So, please wait to ask Mom anything if a Hallmark movie is on and Jet is in her lap. She’s relaxing with Jet, the “cherry on top of it all.”

The best therapy I can suggest for us all, especially seniors, is the unconditional love of a pet. Companionship, exercise, and relief from stress and depression is the gift in return.

Ted Berry

Council President, Ward 1