By Liz King
Staff Writer
May 23, 2009 12:15 am NEWBURYPORT — You know what they say — one man's junk is another man's treasure. Hardy and Terry Evans are opening up their house full of treasures, a 6-ton camper, to locals over Memorial Day weekend. The couple's hand-built fifth-wheeler, appropriately dubbed the "Wayzalot," will be parked at Oldies Marketplace and open for tours today and tomorrow during the shop's regular hours. The Evanses' home away from home has everything — a back porch, full-size sleeper couch, queen-size bed, tub, shower, bathroom sink, air conditioner, refrigerator, television, stereo — including the kitchen sink. "It's a good way to travel," Terry said. "Home is here — we can make our supper and can leave, too." The Evanses first brought the Wayzalot to Newburyport two years ago, when they were visiting Terry's sister, who lives on Lime Street. This year, even though Terry is away for the holiday weekend, the couple decided to come back. "We had such a good time in Newburyport because we met so many people," Terry said. "Everyone's really friendly. Al from the bank even brought us a paper every morning." Last year, because of soaring gas prices, the Evanses' trip to Newburyport was canceled, and they visited Canada, a bit closer their home in Pleasant Prairie, Wis. But they couldn't wait to come back to the area, where they like to visit the waterfront, Plum Island, the Custom House Maritime Museum and the bagel shop. Since being stationed in the parking lot at Oldies Marketplace, the Evanses have had numerous visitors and have made a lot of friends: A couple gave the couple a ride in their 1929 Reo, Andy and Debbie Kontautus of the Old Firehouse Mechanic No. 2 fire barn invited them to their home, another couple brought them to a dinner party in New Hampshire, and another fan invited the Evanses to park the Wayzalot at her home on Plum Island. "People from all over contact us and offer us a stay in their driveway," Terry said. "So I keep all those contacts in my little atlas." A step into the Wayzalot is a lot like a step into the Evans' home in Wisconsin: framed photos, memorabilia from car shows and road trips, pennants, tin ashtrays and other souvenirs from their journeys line the walls right up to the two skylights. The cedar-planked, tin-roofed home has a mailbox, welcome sign and American flags outside, and a home for their two 21âÑ2 year old dogs, Loomis Fargo and Lester Cooper, inside. "This is how our house looks," Terry said. "When we got married, we both had so much junk — Hardy had steam whistles and railroad train headlights, and I had antique furniture." Much of the antique decor, including a 1951 Philco television, has been revamped. The TV was gutted, and a new television and VCR were built into the old cabinet. But the home keeps its old-fashioned feel, as it is wired with pre-1930s light fixtures, a fuse box from 1910, a bathroom sink from an old train car on the North Shore electric line, and shelves made from treadle sewing machine drawers. Most of the "junk" in the Wayzalot was collected by the couple over a long time; the dream about building a home on wheels sprouted in the '70s. Hardy, 72, and Terry, 62, who have been married for more than 40 years and retired for 10, finished building the Wayzalot in 1999 after two years of construction. "It was our retirement plan," Terry said. "We'd go and have open houses on the weekend to fund it, and then we'd have a few days of travel." Since completion, they've traveled extensively throughout the country, raising funds through open houses during truck and RV shows, such as the National Road Caravan in 2006. During the tour through six states, held for the 200-year anniversary of the Cumberland Pike Road, the state of Illinois escorted the Wayzalot through the state with six squad cars and 12 police motorcycles. "I felt like the president," Terry said. "We didn't stop for a red light for about three hours." After their week in Newburyport, the Evanses will be showcasing the Wayzalot at Fleetwood Cruise, a car show in London, Ontario. Then, they will visit the historic village of Vicksburg, Mich., and spend time visiting the new RV museum in Indiana. Terry and Hardy, who are part of the Tin Can Tourist group, an antique RV club, also plan to start preparing for the Lincoln Highway Tour of antique campers. Two years ago, Terry said that nearly 500 people came to visit the Wayzalot at Oldies, and this year, with the city's Spring Fest, she is expecting more. She said many of the visitors mention that they have seen the camper on the Travel Channel's show "RV Crazy," which aired in 2003 and has shown the couple's home nearly once a month since. "We didn't build this with the idea that it's going to be ours to keep private," Terry said. "We did it, and people like to look at it — we don't pick our noses in the truck because people are always looking."
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