Timmy, me boy

The Alberton Papers, Vol VI, #XII
By Dick Darne 6-30-08
This week I would like to pay tribute to one of the finest musicians I ever played with, both on stage or just jamming. Twenty nine years ago I arrived in Alberton on the forth of July weekend. Someone took me over to the Lumberjack, where I observed a young man playing the dobro with the band. Since I came from the heartland of bluegrass music, I did know how it was supposed to sound and sound like it, it did. A short time later, when I had the Petty Creek Band and played a few years in Chet’s on Friday nights, I was introduced to Tim Ishler, the dobro player. Whenever we were lucky enough to get a paying job, we would try to get Tim to play with us, although he was in such demand, it wasn’t always possible. He not only was a master on the dobro, but he became master of all the stringed instruments. He could sing any part and knew his way around the stage and sound system. In short, he was one of the best.
Tim’s talents didn’t stop there, he served our town in the fire department, rising to Chief. He studied and trained and became an EMT. He was truly talented, but used his talents to help people enjoy a better world rather than pursue the almighty dollar. For a couple of years he would hitch a ride from Missoula to Alberton with me, where I found him to be quite capable of properly thinking as we discussed multiple topics on the long ride home. We never got to play much as the years went on, life’s many demands weighing in on both of us, but I’ll surely miss him. I will never forget the mournful, bluesy sound he would coax from the "old hound dog" or the "bells in his banjo" as only a gifted few could do. The only stringed instrument I never heard him play was the harp. Do you suppose?
Timmy, me boy, you picked and sang more than most. It still wasn’t enough. You were a part of Alberton and Alberton will be a lesser place without you. dd