Tom Shurtliff

TOM SHURTLIFF

Many of my fondest memories center around my boyhood days growing up in the little farming community of Iona near Idaho Falls, Idaho. One of the permanent fixtures around Iona was old Tom Shurtliff. Tom was ninety-five years old at the time of this painting. Every morning he would ride his horse around town. At ninety-five, he could no longer stand on the ground and lift his foot into the stirrup to get into the saddle. He could, however, still climb up onto his rail fence. He would then whistle to his horse, which would come and stand alongside the fence so that Tom could cross over into the saddle. Where there’s a will, there’s a way!

Greg Olsen