Friends of the Brian Williams family had a huge response from neighbours when the word went out that some help was requested to take off a field of crops, after Williams passed away on Friday just as harvest was beginning in the Milestone area.
Jeff Brown, the mayor of Milestone and neighbour of the Williams family, noted that at first the family was reluctant to have help with harvest, but the offers to help just kept coming forward, so a text went out to eight or nine neighbours.
“Before we knew it, we had 10 or 12 combines coming, and by the time we had everything organized, there were 19 or 20 combines in the field,” said Brown.
The group of combines were able to harvest around 600 acres of durum on Sunday. Brown had a drone go up to video the combined effort, and he had them drive in a V-formation, with Williams’ Case combine leading the way.
There were a couple of fields that were ready to go, and they debated about whether to put the word out for people to come help. As Brown explained, it wasn’t that they needed the help, but the community wanted to help and kept offering their assistance.
“Looking back on it, and knowing the family, we should’ve expected it. We thought people would be busy with their own crops, but it turned out that so many people wanted to come,” he said. “It was something the community wanted to do for them.”
On Monday evening, a group of ladies got together to provide a meal to the Williams families to help them out further.
The situation for the family has been a tough one, so this outpouring of assistance by the community was “overwhelming”.
“That’s just the type of people they are, they would never ask for help,” said Brown, describing Brian as a tireless volunteer who involved on the rink board, the Elks Club and the Fire Department, just to name some of the places where he helped out.
His sons, who are all in their 30s and 40s, are the same as they are involved in everything going on in the community, added Brown.
There will be a memorial service for Williams today, Aug. 22, at 11 a.m. at the Milestone Rink.
Meanwhile, in the coming weeks, the family wants to keep on with the harvesting, and if they need help at all, such as if there is a machine breakdown, there are neighbours close by who will lend a hand, said Brown, adding, “They’ve got a pretty good chunk of it done.”
“They’re very grateful for the turnout of people who came out to help them. I saw a lot of smiles out there and a lot of tears. It was a very community-oriented day,” said Brown.
