Page 16 September 23, 2021 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
Jack Ashworth from front page
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visit his father’s home country of England.
He also traveled to Ireland, where Ashworth
said, “We met a group of wandering hippies
like we were.” Ashworth, a musician at the
time who was toting his banjo, fell in with a
group of wandering musicians, who traveled
in horse-drawn vans previously owned by Irish
gypsies, stopping in pubs and other venues to
play music.
He said that one day as he was continuing
his world tour, he had an epiphany. “Out of
the blue, I came to a sudden realization,” he
said, “that the place where people all over the
world have looked to in search of freedom
and a better life was none other than the place
that I had all but turned my back on, the good
old U.S.A.”
So, Ashworth returned stateside to Seattle
to, as he put it, “seek out my version of the
American Dream.” He leased an affordable
homestead in the state of Washington, built
a log cabin on an Indian reservation, bought
a draft horse, and created an organic farm
on his land, including growing five acres of
raspberries. “We were farming,” Ashworth said,
“almost like the Amish people.”
Not all the locals were too pleased with the
“almost Amish farmers.” He mentioned that
during his stay in Washington, a few of the
Indians, after consuming an adult beverage
or two, actually “shot at me, wanted me off
the reservation.”
He said that, as a city lad who was now
living in what he termed a “natural environment,”
he became more cognizant of what he
said was the “awesome power, beauty, and
harmony” that one could experience in that
natural environment.
As he was contemplating his “newfound
spiritual insights,” Ashworth was visited by
local missionaries, who wanted him to accompany
them to their church. Ashworth was
not too keen on that idea but did agree to
peruse a copy of the New Testament, which
the missionaries left behind. “To my surprise,”
he said, “I found myself drawn to much of
the wise council within its pages.” He said
that the readings inspired his “awakening to
a new sense of self-purpose that was not only
shocking to me, but to my closest friends.”
It was in this period that Ashworth was visited
by his closest friend, who was hitchhiking
to Washington from California. Ashworth’s
buddy had met a member of the Unification
Church, who suggested that Ashworth’s friend
should join the Seattle branch of the church.
This was, Ashworth thought, out of character
for his friend and piqued Ashworth’s curiosity
enough that he decided to pay his friend
a visit at the church.
During the visit, which he said changed
everything for him, Ashworth said he sensed
an “aura of bubbling enthusiasm” coming
from the church members and became keenly
interested in the teachings of the church’s
founder, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon. “As an
amateur history buff,” Ashworth said, “I was
especially interested in Rev. Moon’s teaching
about America’s providential role as the ‘City
on the Hill” whose destiny is to guide the world
towards peace in the 21st century.”
During the next few years, Ashworth said
that his spiritual awakening led him to participate
in church outreach programs to college
students and civic leaders, complete his college
education, and graduate from the Unification
Theological Seminary.
In 1982, Ashworth and his bride Young,
another church member, tied the matrimonial
knot, taking part in the International Wedding
of 2,075 couples in New York’s Madison
Square Garden.
A decade later, Ashworth and his wife and
two daughters returned to Southern California
from their dwelling in New York. Ashworth
said that when the family arrived in California,
they “had about $300.” They initially lived in
Inglewood, but Ashworth did not think that the
1990-era Inglewood area was a suitable place
to raise a family, and, given the fact he was
always drawn to the ocean, moved to El Segundo.
The family moved to El Segundo for many
of the same reasons many folks pitched their
tent in town. Among the activities that were
taking place in town at that time that motivated
and interested Ashworth included the Good
Friday prayer breakfast, interfaith Easter sunrise
service, the concerts in the park, the great car
shows, and the plethora of sporting activities
that the Ashworth children could participate in.
“As parents,” Ashworth said, “we especially
felt gratitude to El Segundo for providing a
great place to raise our four children, whose
benefits from the great educational and sports
experiences have provided them all with paths
to successful careers as adults.”
Ashworth noted the business-friendly
environment of El Segundo, which has allowed
the entrepreneur to open several local
establishments, including ESP Fashions and
the Melt gelato and crepe café at Plaza El
Segundo. Ashworth’s latest business venture is
Miraku Kimchi, which is in his old hometown
of Gardena.
Bill McCaverty and Ashworth have been
friends for “15, maybe 20 years,” McCaverty
said. The duo has bonded over their love of
surfing, and fishing, with McCaverty noting
fishing excursions to Kodiak, Alaska. “We did
some crazy stuff,” McCaverty said, alluding to
one of their adventures in Alaska that involved
a Grizzly Bear. Although he did not expound
upon the Grizzly Bear incident, he did say
that “we survived.”
McCaverty said that Ashworth “is a loyal
friend. A very caring person, who does a lot
of things for charities.” He noted that Ashworth
has always championed the causes of
young people, mentioning that Ashworth will
take youngsters on fishing excursions on his
boat, calling Ashworth “a good family man,
a good solid guy.”
El Segundo resident Don Brann has known
Ashworth for a decade. “I met Jack about
ten years ago when his family opened their
restaurant, Melt.
“Jack has many varied interests and weaves
them into a vibrant lifestyle,” emailed Brann.
“He is a positive role model as an El Segundo
citizen and contributes to our town’s uniqueness.
As an advocate for civility and peace, Jack
celebrates diversity in thought, compassion
and reflection.”
Active in church and civic organizations,
Ashworth was instrumental in convincing city
officials to become part of “National Parents
Day,” which is a day each year that highlights
the crucial part that parents play in supporting
and raising their children. The 2022 National
Parents Day is on the docket for Sunday, July 24.
“I like being a volunteer and ambassador
for our town,” he said. “and I hope that it will
continue to be a bright spot in the midst of
this incredible metropolis that surrounds us.”
Ashworth said that since his retirement, “I
spend a lot of time taking people fishing,”
looking upon his fishing endeavors as a sort
of “ministry.”
Looking towards the future, Ashworth said
that he “hopes that we, as Americans, will seek
a little more E Pluribus Unum and In God we
Trust, and focus less on the things that divide
us. May God continue to bless our Mayberry
by the Sea.”
Bob Dylan’s final lyrics in his Like a Rolling
Stone tune: “How does it feel, ah how does it
feel? To be on your own, with no direction home
Like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone.”
It seems that Jack Ashworth and his family
have found their home in El Segundo. •
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