Iu Memoriam 
UR Mr. William Macdonald was fatally 
injured in a tragic auto accident near Santa 
Barbara early in the evening of January 15, 1955. 
He was traveling to a Kiwanis International meet- 
ing in Ventura at the time, and a doctor friend 
was also a fatality. Mr. Macdonald was elected 
a Lieutenant Governor of Kiwanis last November 
and in recent years had devoted much of his time 
in advancing the good works of that organization. 
The following paragraphs are reprinted from the 
Santa Maria Times Editorial of January 18th: 
“William Macdonald is gone and with him goes a senior 
lifetime of devotion to a cause: the cause of youth that it 
might be bettered; might be given greater opportunities for 
advancement; might be fittingly rewarded for the individual 
efforts toward self-improvement so enthusiastically and 
whole-heartedly sparked by the ever-friendly smile and 
sympathetic understanding of Mr. Macdonald. 
“Mr. Macdonald founded the Kiwanis-sponsored Key 
Club of Santa Maria Union High School when he was 
Kiwanis president in 1950. He has for years served as 
chairman of the Kiwanis Under-Privileged Childrens’ 
Dental Clinic fund. A busy man, Bill Macdonald, he was 
never too busy to function as a ‘pillar of strength’: to 
wage campaign after campaign as the ‘happy warrior’ 
who led fund-raising crews in button-holing passers-by 
on the downtown streets of Santa Maria for a dime, a 
dollar or ten dollars. 
“And ‘ol’ Macdonald,’ as his fellow club members loy- 
ingly called him when they would break out into the 
ageless ‘Ol’ Macdonald Had a Farm, was a_ business 
leader of the first water, too. Canny as a Scotsman in- 
herently is; honest as the God-fearing son of a Scotch 
Presbyterian minister must surely be, wise in floriculture 
LEE ELLE LLL 
as a man who spent the greater part of his life in that 
industry, William Macdonald held a place in the esteem 
of his associates and competitors in the international 
flower seed industry.” 
Mr. William Macdonald spent his working life- 
time in the seed business, starting as an apprentice 
in England in 1904. He founded our company in 
1926 and specialized in the production of Flower 
Seeds. He loved to work with Sweet Peas. Many 
of the newer varieties will be a tribute to his 
memory for years to come. Our business will be 
carried on by his two sons, James D. and William 
K. Macdonald. Jim has been associated with his 
Dad since 1935 after finishing Business College. 
Bill since 1945, after graduation from Oregon State 
Agricultural College and a three-year tour of duty 
as a field artillery officer in World War II. We 
intend to carry on with the same high business 
principles of the beloved founder of our company. 
