The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News - Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties

As the Everly Heritage Museum's creators gathered items to build a worthy gallery of memories for the community, they knew the grand opening would need to be a magnificent affair.

Committee members Connie Goeken and Mike Monnahan went to their musical roots and remembered Everly Community Education (ECE) concerts from years past. From the late 80's through early 90's, talented local musicians came together to share the stage and promote arts and education within the Everly community in a big way. Skits, comedic acts, musical numbers, orchestra accompaniment and costume changes were the makings of truly outstanding ECE shows that many remember fondly.

Monnahan and Goeken were at the helm of these large-scale ECE productions, alongside the drive and talents of Everly's late great Alvena Koehnk. The trio joined forces with the likes of numerous talented participants to put on performances that few can forget.

As the pair pondered how to give the museum a proper fundraiser opener, they realized that much of the local talent still remained – an ECE revival of sorts was just the ticket.

Calls were made to key prior ECE members, including Gary Klett, Anne Fell and Teresa Meyer. Band members were lined up with Tyler Pedersen on trumpet, Casey Kingdon and James Kunz on saxophone, Phil Christy on drums, Jerry Jones on bass, Joe Cuttell on guitar and Monnahan fronting the fearless band on lead guitar.

State Bank of Everly readily agreed to sponsor the event and more than 186 tickets were sold. The song line-up was largely comprised of pieces performed at past ECE performances ranging from classic Supremes songs to the Queen of Soul's "Respect," to Barry Manilow and a special appearance by the King himself, Elvis Presley, played by Randy Dillingham.

Two younger performers joined their ECE idols, Andy Nath and myself (Iesha Toft). Nath traveled all the way from Madison, Wisc., for the opportunity to play with such talent. He wowed the crowd during his Temptations number of "Get Ready" and led a sing-along version of the James Taylor classic "You've Got a Friend."

IESHA TOFT/SENTINEL-NEWS

Everly Heritage Museum steering committee member VerDon Schmidt and Mayor Brad Behrens look over old photos during the facility's grand opening on Friday, Nov. 12.

The girl group songs ranging from "Soldier Boy" to "Be My Baby," all showcased the talents of the powerhouse female vocalists onstage. Klett made an impressive slide-in entrance during his second set, "Devil With the Blue Dress/Good Golly Miss Molly." Cuttell slayed the guitar and rocked the mic with his rendition of "Great Balls of Fire."

Goeken and Fell proved they still had it while effortlessly hitting their hard soprano notes while mother-daughter duo of Meyer and Toft held down the fort on the low end. The crowd could barely sit in their seats as they swayed, sang and clapped along to every song.

Each musician proved why they were on stage and meshed together beautifully to bring forth a concert that left viewers on their feet for a standing ovation at the show's end. On the opposite side of the stage, each concert-goer reminisced of ECE concerts gone by, solidifying just how important it is to keep these memories of the community within the Everly Heritage Museum.