A Legacy That Has Lasted Seven Generations

SWEET LADY WILLIAMS

Arthur Lindsay Williams, my great grandfather, was known and loved for his kind disposition. He always had time for people and treated them with respect. He was also a champion ax-man winning 18 regional wood-chopping events in 12 years.

Arthur, however, was less than impressed when his two-year-old son, Ronald (my grandfather), took and ax to an apple tree next to the family home. Ronald's mother carefully bandaged the tree, and it eventually bore apples of exceptional sweetness. Dubbed the Lady Williams apple, the new variety became a forbear of the Cripps Pink apple, one of the world's most popular apple varieties.  

Ronald, or Gramp, as I call him, later turned to more constructive pursuits. He and Grandma served for years as volunteer workers on Witness construction projects in Australia and the Solomon Islands. Now nearly 80 years old, Gramp still serves as a congregation elder and helps to build and renovate Kingdom Halls in Western Australia.

Next time: A Legacy That Has Lasted Seven Generations - HONORING MY HERITAGE

From the Watchtower magazine, 2015