The community of Milestone and the surrounding area rallied over the weekend to help harvest after a farmer passed away last week.
Brian Williams, a father of three, died on Friday. Milestone’s mayor, Jeff Brown, sent out a call for help on Saturday, asking for people to help get the family’s wheat in the bin.
Brown, a lifelong friend of the Williams family, said he expected about six or seven combines to come out for the harvest. But on Sunday morning, he was surprised to see 20 combines, four grain carts and at least 100 spectators and volunteers joining in the harvest. The combines worked in a v-formation, led by Williams’ favourite Case International Harvester.
Brown said Brian was a “pillar in the community.” He was on many boards, including the R.M. council and fire department.
“The family was more than capable of handling this task on their own and everybody there that was doing it knew that,” Brown told CTV News. “This maybe gives them a couple of days to keep poking away at what they’re doing to keep themselves busy, yet take the stress off. You know, there (were) tears, there (were) laughs. There was a little bit of everything. It was all over the place, but I know the family appreciated it.”
Brown said he doesn’t want to take all the credit for organizing the event, instead saying he wants to show how the community came together in a time of need.
A funeral for Brian Williams will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. at the Milestone Rink.
