Ashcraft Featured Author At Sunrise Festival Of The Arts

Jimmie Ashcraft, a long time physician in Sidney, will be one of the featured authors during the Sunrise Festival of the Arts in Sidney on Saturday, July 11. The 30th annual Sunrise Festival of the Arts, presented by Dasinger Oil Properties, is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Park.

Ashcraft has discussed his books often at the Sunrise Festival after practicing at Sidney Health Center for 25 years. His books have included "Reflections of a Country Doctor," "The Next Prescription: More Reflections of a Country Doctor," "Side Effects: Another Dose of Stories from a Country Doctor" and "Paging Dr. a: Continuing Stories from a Country Doctor."

He estimates he promoting his books at the Sunrise Festival about six times. "I get to sit in the sun and visit with friends and neighbors."

This time, he will be visiting about a brand new book. Unlike his previous works, this one isn't about medical treatment stories but rather about memories for when he has been golfing. The book is titled, "Yanks, Shanks and Mulligans."

He explained he started golfing after retirement. "It's golf stories by a country doctor," he added. "These are all the golf stories I've come across on the course. There's a few medical stories in there."

Ashcraft has improved his own game so much that he has won the club championship twice and has been selected Golfer of the Year at the club he belongs to in Billings. "I do all right," he said.

He feels golfers and others will enjoy the book. "I like golfing. I like going out and being by myself, being out on the course and nature." He especially likes when he sees an older person taking joy after hitting a fantastic shot.

Ashcraft said it took him about five days to think of stories to tell and another five days to write the stories down for the book. The editing takes a longer time period.

"It wasn't any tougher," Ashcraft said when he compared the golf book to his previous works. "I'm not a fiction writer. I'm just a storyteller that tells real experiences. Remembering the stories is easy."

Ashcraft's son, David, is a graphic designed and created the illustrations and the book cover.

"It's 200 pages of fun," Jimmie said.