Teachers’ final lesson: A great ‘Lancaster County house’

When a two-story Colonial home at 330 Race Avenue in Lancaster sold in 2020, it closed the story of a teaching couple who had profoundly affected neighbors and students from Millersville University and Hempfield School District for decades.

John Evans graduated in 1939 and Ann (Buckwalter) Evans in 1942 from Millersville. They met when they were young and went on to marry and have long careers in education.

The home was originally built for a couple in 1948. A church bought the property from them and used the house as their parsonage until selling it to the Evanses in 1968.

It is like a little stone castle, with a slate roof, large windows and beautiful stone 18 inches thick, which keeps any outside noises, outside. There are eight rooms, including three bedrooms. John built an addition on to the home which features a two-sided glass enclosure.

“It’s very special, just beautiful, gorgeous architecture,” longtime neighbor and close friend Jane Scott Skehan said of the home. John maintained the integrity by not removing walls. “It’s very much a Lancaster County house built by Lancaster County hands.”

It’s very much a Lancaster County house built by Lancaster County hands.

Realtor Pam Young sold the home in less than a week, even during the pandemic. She also provided a special service for the Evanses. Ann had left closets full of well-kept clothing, some of it decades old. Her collection of hats, still in their boxes, filled a room. Young offers clients her knowledge of where to donate or sell items from their loved ones’ estates.

Young contacted the Millersville Costume Shop, which was more than happy to accept the donations. Now, the period clothes will get new life in future shows.

Derek Langhauser is a great nephew of the Evanses. He and his wife, Maureen Fitzgerald, live in Maine. They visited Lancaster to help take care of the Evanses’ estate and belongings.

“There was a lot of stuff no one wanted but we did not want to toss it,” Fitzgerald said. “Ann would be thrilled to know where her clothes ended up.” Young also found appropriate places to donate medical supplies such as a special bed, walkers and a Life Alert system.

Their students were their children

Ann started out teaching in an Amish one-room schoolhouse. On Sundays, she’d shovel coal into the furnace so it would be warm for the children on Monday. After two years, she taught in a two-room schoolhouse. John was an industrial arts teacher. Ann and John taught in Landisville for 15 years and in Hempfield for more than 30 years. They never had children but they taught children of many ages and abilities.

“Their students were always like their children,” Maureen Fitzgerald said of her great aunt and uncle. “They were lovely people, engaged, thoughtful, a sense of humor like you wouldn’t believe.”

Ann passed away in February of 2020 just after her 100th birthday – “We had a fabulous celebration at her home in January,” says Fitzgerald. John passed away in 1999.

Jane Scott Skehan and Dan Skehan were neighbors of the Evanses from 1994 until 2019. They said Ann’s teaching did not stop outside the classroom. Jane had three children ages 1, 2, and 3 and was pregnant with a fourth when her husband hurt his foot in a lawnmower accident in 1998. Ann asked Jane how she could help. Admittedly “overwhelmed,” Jane asked if Ann could read a book to her oldest son Jack one day a week. He would visit Ann for a few hours a week thereafter and his younger brother eventually did as well. They read books, colored and learned about football since Ann was a fan, especially of the Crimson Tide.

She knew what they needed to know and it was second nature teaching them

“She knew how to meet people where they were,” Jane said of Ann. “She knew what they needed to know and it was second nature teaching them.” Jane ended up having seven children and all benefitted from having the Evanses as neighbors. Some of them held Ann’s hand in the hospital before she passed away.

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