We recognize Eva Ashton a Prominent Woman of the Uintah Basin from 1899-1962. It is all too seldom that tributes are paid to great women like Eva Ashton. She radiated happiness. Her whole life was built on a desire to pass on to others a bit of sunshine. In an address delivered at Utah’s Girls’ State in 1949 at Utah State University in Logan, Utah, she said, “Strive to live each day so there will be sunshine within; for if there’s sunshine within, there will be sunshine without.” But Eva truly earned for herself a place in the sun by rising from a remote part of the nation to one of the highest honors that could come to her. Another of Eva’s quotes was, “If right in your heart, you’ll build a lovely character, and from that, there will be within your home sweet harmony, happiness will radiate. Your children will appreciate the pleasant, wholesome happiness, and if you’ll teach them not to fear, to have faith in God, and pray, you’ll build a home that is beauty-filled. Eva spent time on her father’s Willow Creek ranch in the Book Cliff Mountains. She was one of the first lady stagecoach drivers in history. When she was seventeen years old, she drove stage from Myton to Wells Draw and sometimes from Wells Draw. Then she put herself through college because there was no family help available. One of the jobs she held was the first telegraph operator in Nine Mile. She graduated from Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. The first school in the Book Cliffs opened in 1916 in the home of Jerimiah “Jerry” Hatch. Later, a tiny dugout room was completed. The room measuring about twelve by fourteen feet, it was created by tunneling into a hill, then erecting a roof. Desks were roughly made benches. On very cold days the teacher gathered her pupils around the stove to recite their lessons. One of the first teachers in Willow Creek School was Eva Stewart. After attending BYU, she went to Willow Creek, to pass on to the youth in the remote area some of the knowledge she had gained.    Eva was a beautiful young lady and matured into a most striking, distinguished woman with raven black hair. She stood out, her presence dominating any crowded room.   Eva married Rae Ashton on 20, May 1919 in Roosevelt Utah. Eva and Rae had town children, Ralph and Stewart, both born while living in Roosevelt. A little of history of the Ashton Brothers and Ashton’s Department Store needs to be told since the store became a large part of Eva’s life, and she was the largest stockholder in the business.  When Eva and Rae’s son, Stewart “Stew,” graduated from Stanford University and returned from World War II, he took over as general manager of the store. After Ralph returned from the war, he also completed his education at Stanford, then returned to join his family in the business. When Rae died in 1952, Stewart became president of the company, Ralph became vice-president, and Eva, the major stockholder, became secretary-treasurer. The firm, which had started with two or three employees, grew to one hundred persons. Eva was proud of her two sons who had served their country Lt. Stewart Ashton served in the Navy Air Corps and was awarded six Air Medals and the Distinguished Flying Cross after fifty-two bombing missions against the Japanese in the South Pacific. Ralph Ashton had a less glamorous wartime mission, first as a lieutenant in a pack mule outfit, then as platoon commander of a machine gun and mortar company in the Philippine Islands, serving with the Field Artillery in World War II. Eva’s husband, Rae, had served his country in World War I. Eve also had two brothers who served in World War I, and a half-brother, Arden Stewart, of Vernal, who served in the Navy in World War II. He later became the Utah Department Commander of the American Legion.   Rae was also very active in the American Legion. With this family of war veterans, Eve had a natural interest in the American Legion Auxiliary. In 1935 Eva Ashton, an active officer of the American Legion Auxiliary won the state presidency by a sweeping majority at the state convention held in Richfield in August. She received 208 votes out of the 293 cast. At that time, she was district president of the Auxiliary, having been elected in April at Moab, and president of the Witbeck Post Auxiliary at Vernal in 1934-1935. In 1943 Eva Ashton was elected as the national vice-president of the western division of the American Legion Auxiliary, … [Read more...]