Charles Davis makes one thing perfectly clear—and he’s not just talking about windows, though as the owner and sole proprietor of See Thru Window Cleaning for 40 years, he keeps many Statesboro businesses’ windows crystal clear. No, what comes through even more clearly about Davis is his abiding love of music, ministry, and the community that has surrounded him and his family for more than four decades.
Davis started See Thru Window Cleaning in 1983 as a means of supporting his family while he and his wife volunteered in ministry. “My wife and I moved to Statesboro to help Trinity Presbyterian Church start the mission in Statesboro,” Davis explained.
Now, 40 years later, Davis has committed most of his life, when he’s not cleaning windows, to studying and ministering through music. He and his wife, Jan (Mary Janet Davis nee McPherson), are also raising their grandchildren, ages 6 and 17.
Journey to Columbia
The couple both attended Savannah High School in the late 1960s, but didn’t associate at the time. After graduating from high school in 1969, Davis enrolled in Georgia Southern’s music program to study percussion, and there he fell in love with his lifelong sweetheart, Jan, who studied flute.
The two had known “of” each other at Savannah High, but sparks didn’t fly until their days in the music program together. She was two years ahead of him in high school and “Seniors didn’t want to be associated with us,” Davis laughed.
After two years at what was then Georgia Southern College, Davis transferred to Florida State University so he could major in percussion performance. The highlight? Playing percussion with FSU’s famous Marching Chiefs.
But things changed course for Davis again when he was compelled by a desire to serve others through music and ministry. This desire to serve is what ultimately drew him and Jan to Columbia Bible College, now Columbia International University, in South Carolina. In 1972, they got married and started Bible College together.
Their fondest memories from Columbia Bible College include singing in the Ambassador’s Choir and traveling to perform music at churches in the area. In 1973, their second year at the school, they had the once in a lifetime opportunity to celebrate its 50-year anniversary. The excitement on campus that year was palpable, and the newlyweds were forever emblazoned with pride for their school. They never imagined that they would be back 50 years later for another milestone celebration.
Couple attends Columbia's 50th and 100th anniversary
But in November 2023, 50 years after they attended as students, they had another once in a lifetime opportunity: Returning to celebrate Columbia International University’s 100-year anniversary. Revisiting the early days of their marriage and ministry studies was an inspiration to Davis, who still composes music (and washes windows) in his 70s. In a letter to Columbia International University, Davis writes, “I played the trombone and percussion, and Jan played flute (she received a performance degree in flute from Georgia Southern College). We have used our musical talents in the church at large for the past 50 years.”
Always composing
His dedication to songwriting and composition has kept his mind occupied during long, tedious hours washing windows. “I’m always composing a song in my head,” Davis shared and then laughed, “I’ll be composing until I’m decomposing.”
Davis, whose workday usually starts well before dawn, says the repetitive nature of his work washing windows has given him a lot of time to think up new musical arrangements and lyrics. Some of his songs, like “Olive plants around my table,” are inspired by his children and the gentle care they require. Others like, “I’ve already crossed over,” are inspired by his experiences in ministry life. This song played an important role when he and Jan both battled COVID-19 at the same time in 2020. Davis says, “I sang this song over and over in the hospital, and it reminded me that the important work was already done.”
Hinton Booth House
On a short drive through Statesboro, Davis can recall the history and occupants of dozens of area businesses, including the place he and Jan called home during the 1980s, the Hinton Booth House. The Hinton Booth House has its own rich history, and Davis, known for his sense of humor as well as his music and his window cleaning business, remembers when Booth's wife would drive through the detached garage, “widening it a little each time.” The garage is still there and driving through it reveals 1930s-era building blocks and pieces of history that are easy to overlook, but still present in the midst of modern Statesboro.
The Hinton Booth House is now the site of several commercial businesses, but Davis remembers bringing his first two children home from the hospital and raising them in what was once a residential area along Zetterower Avenue. “We rented the house for $120 a month, and we walked to Trinity Presbyterian Church when we were serving there.” The church building is now gone, but it once stood at the corner of Savannah Avenue and Zetterower Avenue in downtown Statesboro. It was the meeting place for Trinity Presbyterian Church from 1983 to 1991.
Helping start Trinity Presbyterian Church
In the early 1980s, Davis and his wife were heavily involved in helping start what is now Trinity Presbyterian Church in Statesboro. After completing his Master of Divinity at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Davis served in mission efforts across Texas and Georgia. Ultimately, helping support the mission in Statesboro is what brought them here, closer to their families and roots in the area.
Davis was selected as one of the first elders, and Jan volunteered as church secretary for eight years. When the church started a school in 1984, Davis’ mother, Helen Davis, nee Helen Godbee, a teacher and master of the piano, moved to Statesboro and served as the school's first teacher, free of charge. Two of the Davises' grandchildren now attend the school that their grandparents and great-grandmother helped found. (Learn more about the history of Statesboro’s Trinity Presbyterian Church here.)
Over the years, Davis has seen many things change, but a few are constant: the need for clean windows and music that fills the soul. Davis does both.
You can hear Davis play piano during the 11am service on Sundays at Leefield Baptist Church, and you can often find him washing windows throughout Statesboro and beyond.
