About Donna J. Williams

          Donna J. Williams is a native of Grayson County and currently resides in Henry County with her husband Ray. Their son, Daniel who resides in Tampa, Florida is the seventh generation of family broom-makers.

          As of January 2004, she became the sixth generational broom-maker within a long lineage of family broom-makers. The first-known fully documented broom-maker in her family was her great-great grandmother, Mary Jane Morris Hawkins of Grayson and Hart counties. However, there was another family member who taught her grandmother, and to date it is unclear as to whom it may have been. Mrs. Williams' great-uncle Lee Hawkins and her great-aunt Pauline Hawkins much like her great-great Grandmother supplemented their living from broom-making.

          Mrs. Williams began making brooms after watching her Grandfather, Brother Winford Smith of Hart County, makes brooms. Brother Smith learned how to make brooms from watching and helping his Grandmother Mary Jane Hawkins and his Uncle Lee. At the age of 65 he recreated a broom-making machine from memory and an old photograph. Mrs. Williams began a five apprenticeship with her Grandfather in 1988, she then embarked on her own broom-making ventures of demonstrating primarily at historical re-enactments. In 2000, "Followin' Family Traditions", the business, was created.

          Ms. Williams' makes traditional brooms according to the methods used by family members. Kentucky broomcorn is preferred in her brooms, when it is available. Her brooms are designed on a variety of handles: standard handles or "common handles" are purchased from her broomcorn supplier; twisted branches or tree limbs with unusual shapes, she locates "forages" in nearby woods or on farms; hand-forged iron handles are specially designed and purchased from various members of the Kentucky Blacksmith Association. To date she makes around ten different styles of brooms and uses her vacation time to conduct simple easy broom-making classes with area 4-H grounds and schools.

          Donna J. Williams has been selected for artistic excellence to participate in the Kentucky Crafted Program, a program of the Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency which is supported by state tax dollars and federal funding from the National Endowment for the arts. She has receive this special award since 2002 and is very honored to bear its logo on each one of her brooms.

          Williams' often demonstrates her broom-making at pre-1800 to Civil War living historical re-enactments and participates in a few selected art/craft fairs. She is also currently an enrolled artist and educatior in the Southern Indiana Arts Organization.