Historian Chase was ‘a blessing’

Tecumseh lost one of its most dedicated historians last Friday when Ashley Chase died at the age of 88. He was the author of two books on Tecumseh and the 2018 recipient of the Musgrove Evans Award, which recognizes individuals whose efforts have contributed to the quality of life in the community and make Tecumseh a better place in which to live.

In 2017 Chase published his first book of photos and images, “Tecumseh: Images of the Past.” The book features more than 275 photos ranging from 1860 to 2017, chosen from his collection of photos and postcards gathered for more than 40 years, most of which had never been seen by the general public. Accompanying the photos are captions that provide information he researched.

His second book, “Tecumseh: Images of the Past Volume II” includes 184 pages of black and white and color photos including several aerial shots.

Kerry Hamilton Smith worked with Chase during his time as an estimator at a local printing business and had known him since the mid-1980s. She was also instrumental in completing both of his books, and she and Linda Hewlett worked with him to compile the content and add the finishing touches.

“Ashley was a lovely man who loved the history of Tecumseh and wanted to share it with everybody. I was blessed enough that he shared it with me more than others, and when I took an interest in the collection that he had, he was just excited that I was interested. … we just had this connection. Smith said.”

“He was funny, he had this great sense of humor, and he was generous. He was organized. He was Mr. Encyclopedia as far as the history of Tecumseh, but if he didn’t know it, he’d go right over to his file cabinet and he’d look it up. He was just amazing.

“It’s really a loss for Tecumseh,” she said. “The blessing is that he left this legacy of sharing all these photos and all this information with people. We’re all blessed for having Ashley in Tecumseh.”

Bob Elliott, the most recent Musgrove Evans Award recipient and a fellow Tecumseh historian, said Chase was a grandfatherly figure. “We’re all kind of saddened. He was a legend, history-wise,” he said. “If you didn’t really know something, you asked Ashley. If he didn’t remember, he would eventually.”

Elliott said that Chase attended the ceremony on September 24 when he was honored with the Musgrove Evans Award. “It meant a lot to me for him to be there,” he said. “I got a chance to sit down and talk to him. … I had all the former Musgrove Evans Award winners that were there that night sign my program, including Ashley. That will mean something to me.”

When he went to visit Chase at Hickman Hospital recently, he said the experience brought with it a lot of emotions, even while Chase was handing out fifty-cent pieces to visitors.

“It was a blessing to know the guy,” said Elliott. “I wish I’d spent more time with him.”

Linda Hewlett said the first thing that comes to her mind about Chase is that he was a walking encyclopedia of Tecumseh and local banking history.

“He was a very special man. He was very spiritual, absolutely adored his wonderful wife Linda and their children and families. He and Linda both loved to tell you stories about their family. They were so proud,” she said.

“He had a silly side with ‘one liners’ that made you think... pause... then roll your eyes and laugh hysterically. He got me more than once with his pranks.”

She said it was a joy to work on the “Tecumseh Images of the Past” volumes with him. “You could see his face light up when you asked him a question about the history of Tecumseh, he just loved it,” she said. “I also had the pleasure to work with him on two versions of a historic city calendar, and other historic projects for the bicentennial. Every project was so much fun and so interesting, time flew by as we were looking through the pictures and he’d tell stories about all of the buildings and history around town.”

Hewlett said she’d known Chase for 40 years and got to know him even better since working on the books. “I was honored to be able to work with him on all our projects and I am proud to have called him my friend. The city of Tecumseh lost a very special person with his passing. He was a true gem. He will be missed by many. Rest in peace Ashley,” she said.

Chase is survived by a son, two daughters, six grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and a sister. Along with his wife, Linda, he was preceded in death by his parents and a sister. A full obituary is on page 2A.

“I didn’t like studying history much in school,” Chase said in a Homefront Magazine story from 2010, “but when it comes to Tecumseh history, I’m very interested. I love Tecumseh and everything about it, past and present. That’s why I have such an interest in preserving the things that have a personal meaning to me.

“Whenever I hear about a building that is about to come down, I get over there and take a picture of it,” he said.