Desert Messenger

12 www.DesertMessenger.com April 1, 2020 Read Desert MESSENGER ONLINE @ DesertMessengerOnline.com John Herbert "Herb" Ashby Jr. John Herbert "Herb" Ashby Jr., a 79-year-old, resident of the Mini- Cassia area of Idaho and of Bouse, Arizona, passed this earthly life on January 11, 2020, at his home in Bouse, Arizona, with his loving fam- ily by his side. Herb was born January 14, 1940, in Burley, Idaho, to John Herbert and Louise Poulton Ashby. Herb attended schools in the Burley and Twin Falls areas. After school, he served in the United States Navy. On October 20, 1983, he married Billie Jo Nielson. He was an active and talented man with many interests. He could tell many historical stories about Idaho and Quartzite, Arizona. He worked for Amalgamated Sugar Company in Paul, Idaho, for 42 years, as the Head Master Me- chanic, working with the pumps throughout the plant. Herb had a great love for animals, especially dogs and horses. He looked for- ward to riding with his grandfa- ther, Thomas A. Poulton, and be- loved uncle, James (Jim) Poulton of Willow Creek, when they would move cattle each spring and fall. Herb was a member of the Cassia County Mounted Sheriff's Posse, the Chariot Association, and the Racing Association. He was also a certifi ed Emergency Medical Technician, serving with the Minidoka Memori- In Memoriam al Hospital ambulance crew and the Mini-Cassia Search and Rescue. His Love of history and creativity led him to join the local Black Pow- der Mountain Men with his wife, Billie Jo. They attended many dif- ferent rendezvous' throughout the West. His mountain man names were "Many Hats" and mainly, "Brides Maid", as he was often sec- ond in rifl e-shooting events. In 2002, Herb opened his "Willow Creek Traders" business in Quartz- ite, Arizona, where he made and sold custom leather items, weav- ing and beading articles. Billie Jo added to the shop with many sales in books. Many nieces and nephews were tutored by him and they went on to win top honors at the Cassia County Fair and at the district fair in Twin Falls, Idaho. Herb was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was preceded in death by his parents, John Herbert Ashby, Lou- ise Poulton Ashby Jones; his in- laws, Thomas and Millie Nielsen; nephews, Patrick Boehler, Rance Boehler, Cody Ty Gold, Bohdie Lar- son; and a niece, Sierra Larson. He is survived by his wife, Billie Jo Ashby; sisters, Donna Boehler of Burley, Idaho, Cherry Mae (Jay) Black of Almo, Idaho, Tina Lee (Matthew) Surlin of Santa Moni- ca, California; his brother, Robbie C. (Lena) Ashby of Phoenix, Ari- zona; sister-in-law, Patricia (Wal- ter) Craggs of Clearfi eld, Utah; and many nieces and nephews. In Herb's memory, donations may be made to the Mini-Cassia Search and Rescue. A memorial was held in Quartzite, Arizona, and a gathering for family and friends will be held later this summer in the Burley area. I've attempted putting thoughts into words for days now. The inability to accept the feelings I've had, let alone articulate them into paragraphs has been diffi cult. Everything has been diffi cult. FOR ALL OF US. NO ONE IS GETTING OUT OF THIS EASY. Like you, I'm terrifi ed. I'm terrifi ed of the unknown, of how to move forward and what that looks like in the days, months, and years to come. I'm terri- fi ed for my loved ones well being, for our nation, for our world. Parallel to this fear, I've had a deep knowing that there is this collective collaboration that is emerging that will shift our planet for decades to come. Today, my neighbor showed me what I've been sensing. She called by land- line and asked the boys to meet her out by the fence where she would pass over the fence a warm, fresh from the oven, loaf of home made bread and a jar of honey. My boys skipped back to the house to unwrap this little token of warm squishy love, slather butter on it, and then spoon on a thick layer of fresh local honey. In that moment, EV- ERYTHING was clear. We are in this TOGETHER. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US. Every tear I've held back over the past 12 days came gushing out as my boys and I stood around this warm loaf of bread in pure GRATITUDE. My only choice is to pay this love forward. Lawd knows, I can't bake worth a damn, but I/WE can fi nd a way to give back, pay forward, spread love, give hope, and deliver kindness........ EVEN IF WE ARE SCARED. So for today, I'm going to pack up my littles, our "vacationing" baseball cart, and head down the road to pick up trash and clean up our mother earth...... A dear friend of mine said: "Maybe this is a year that we start acting locally and thinking globally, and fi nding the time to perform the little acts of kind- ness we always wish we could but can't seem to turn into action." TODAY I WILL. TOMORROW I MIGHT NOT BE STRONG ENOUGH. THE NEXT DAY I WILL TRY AGAIN. BUT TODAY, I WILL. I HOPE YOU WILL TOO...... BIG LOVE, Chaney Compher Letter to friends By Jackie Deal Readin', Ritin', and Rithmetic: that's what the three Rs used to be. But now? How about Reduce, Reuse, and Recy- cle? Sure, and how do we apply that to the current toilet paper crises? By the way, did you know that Arizona is now number 1? Yep, we're number 1 in the toilet paper crises. Isn't it nice to be number 1 in something? So now let's get practical. Reduce? Okay, I used to use T. P. for the purpose for which it was intended PLUS I blot- ted my lipstick, cleaned off the counter, wiped up the fl oor. No more! Toilet pa- per is now sacred. Reuse? I don't think so! Recycle? Uh, uh. Now paper towels can be reused, if only wet, so I dry them and use them again. So now I've got an untidy pile of drying paper towels on my counter. So much for esthetics. Recycle? I've heard you can use single socks in place of T.P. I like to use them for one time rags; doesn't matter how dirty they get, you just throw them out. Of course, in next week's laundry you'll fi nd the missing orphan sock. Remember the old Sears or Wards catalogs? Many an outhouse sprouted this reading material. Read it and use it. Those in the know avoided the slick pag- es, oh yeah! I wonder if the Desert Mes- senger could be recycled in this way? Arizona, don't be too proud. Newport, Oregon may have out done you. The local paper reported that the police chief was begging folks to stop calling 911 when they were out of toilet paper?!! Some elected offi cials have no sympathy! Perhaps you remember the stories of the long ago English ship's captain who loaded plantain leaves aboard and de- creed that his men would "wipe" and then, Oh Horrors, wash their hands. They almost declared a mutiny but when all was said and done, that ship had less sick and dying shipmates. Of course they also carried limes (Vitamin C) to prevent scurvy. That's why they're called "limeys". We don't have plantain leaves, but real old timers joke about using corncobs. We do have cactus "cobs" but I'm not going to go there. So does that leave us any reduce, reuse, recycle options? Not really. I guess all that's left is to beg your friends to give you the latest, best gift for your birthday, anniversary, house- warming etc. etc.: TOILET PAPER! The three Rs

• Cover