Greensboro’s Johnny Appleseed By Cynthia Adams

Greensboro’s Johnny Appleseed

The green thumb of Bill Craft

By C y ntHi a a da Ms • P HotogR a PHs By M a R k wagoneR

Bi ll Cr af t, head of Cr af t Insur ance and self-st yled nat ure lover, cou ld have spent his dollars on selfagg r andi zing gest ures.

But no. O ver 81 years, Craf t expended resources and muscle mak ing Greensboro better, more color f ul and definitely g reener.

We ar ing old shor t s a nd bat tere d sne a kers, Cr a f t to ok to t he cre ek ba n k s ne ar t he f a m i ly home on Dover R oad, rousing a few of h is n ine ch i ldren to we e d a nd play, cre at ing a nat ur a l i ze d wo o dla nd “cre ek park .”

He toiled there and at other public spaces for 50 years until the end of his life.

Craf t’s headstone at Forest L aw n Cemeter y simply reads “Greensboro’s Johnny Appleseed.” Yet, according to a hor ticult ural inventor y, Craf t planted almost ever y thing but apples in the public spaces he beautified.

He singlehandedly planted and maintained more than 10 0 species of trees, shr ubs and rare plantings in his pet project — a namesake park in Old Ir ving Park just south of Greensboro Countr y Club — Bill Craf t Park. T he “creek park ” he created was a per fect backdrop for his father’s labors, says Daniel Craf t. “He k ind of had a blank slate. . . . Nobody [else] looked af ter them.” Wor n, meander ing and unpaved paths seemed per fect for walkers and children at play. Nothing overly manicured.

He invited others to fall in love with the g reat outdoors, as he had. Adding dollops of color through plantings and taming overg row th was enough; Craf t k new when to step back f rom the canvas.

R esident A nn R obinson says t he ide a wa s “to cre ate a wa l k in t he wo o ds.”

Her sons Will and Patr ick Robinson spent hours playing there when young, mak ing for ts f rom culled bamboo and splashing in the creek with their dog, Nipper.

Craf t was restless, possessing an unusual amount of energ y. A s an only child, he inher ited his father’s business, dutif ully leading it f rom 1954 until 1996 when his children took over. But he bolted outdoors as of ten as possible on a dizzying mission: beautif ying g rounds at St. Francis and Holy Tr init y Episcopalian churches, as well as at St. Pius and Br ight wood Chr istian Academy.

He also t ur ned his attentions to Fisher Park, the Greensboro Science Center and Ir ving Park School.

Craf t even kept a garden for seniors at Everg reens Nursing Center and took them flowers.

A f ter g r aduat ing f rom Carol ina, he ser ve d in t he C oa st Guard b efore mar r y ing Joa nne Br a nt ley. T hey had si x sons a nd t hre e daug hters. Cr a f t’s Chev y S -10 pick up’s t ag re ad: “9Young uns”. Dav id st i l l ha s it.

Daniel recalls being “dragged to park s, to a playg round or Scouts” on Sat urdays. Craf t led Boy Scout Troop 216 for years; all si x sons

ear ned their Eagle badge, like their dad.

David says their color f ul father, t urbocharged with energ y, “didn’t like sitting around talk ing about things.” A n understatement.

His favor ite expression was, “Okey- doke.”

Robinson, whose family moved to Blair Street 25 years ago, soon encountered Craf t’s energ y. Despite his thatch of white hair, he carr ied buckets and buckets of water, tending plants.

“W hen we first moved to Blair Street,” Robinson remembers, “I ran into Bill in the park — work ing, planting as usual . . . and I told him that I had t wo boys who could help out if needed. He k ind of nodded and pointed to our house on the corner to say, ‘Is that where you live?’” T hat Saturday morning, the doorbell rang, “and there was Bill with buckets and shovels. I opened the door and he said, ‘W here are those boys?’” Robinson woke her sons, and they returned exhausted.

T he Craf t boys related.

E qually fond of hik ing and bik ing, Craf t volunteered on Greensboro’s net work of bike trails, which event ually extended through L ake Daniel, L atham Park and L ake Daniel Greenway, on the Benjamin Park way.

Indefatigable and upbeat, Craf t was “k ind of a dreamer,” once dr iving a few of his children to Morehead Cit y in search of Spanish Moss. He st uf fed the station wagon, ret ur ning home the same day.

“T he moss didn’t make it in our climate,” adds Daniel, “but it got us out of the house.”

Stor ies about Craf t t umble out of family and f r iends.

A f ter years of his beautification endeavors, the Chamber honored him in 1974. A comical exchange with philanthropist Joe Br yan became his favor ite stor y.

“He got the Dolley Madison award the same night Joe Br yan got an award,” Daniel recalls.

“T hey b ot h l ive d in Ir v ing Park — k new e ach ot her. Dad st ar te d t a l k ing to h im, a nd sa id, ‘I’m get t ing a n award for my park .’ Jo e says, ‘I’ve got a park na me d a f ter me, to o. But t hey don’t ma ke me work in it.’”

T he Bi l l Cr a f t Park g rew a s c olor f u l a s it s na mesa ke. Cr a f t’s sons est imate t here are e a si ly “ l0 0 a za le a s a nd c a mel ia s a lone — h is f avor ites.”

Daniel mentions a 1990 summer date with his later wife, K athy. T hey were cycling toward Greenhill Cemeter y and spotted a man work ing. “I think I said, ‘Oh, s—t,’” he spluttered.

“K athy said, ‘W hat?’ ’’ Daniel recog nized the unmistak ably tan, wir y fig ure of his father.

“T here he is, tennis shoes, no shir t, and a black Speedo bathing suit, planting a tree! T hat’s how she met him.”

David g roans at the Speedo stor y, saying, “Dad was just living. Didn’t care about judg ment . . . I thought he was a k ind of a nut when I was a teenager.”

But they admired how their father juggled a vocation and fatherhood with many interests, never missing dinners. He watched no television, and read with the same fever that he brought to gardening. His sons say he took pleasure “in ver y basic things.”

Sons No. 9 (Daniel) and No. 8 (David) remained in Greensboro as adult siblings scattered.

If there is an apple tree, seems the Craf t sons did not fall far f rom it. Daniel also likes to do his ow n thing. “I don’t need validation for what I do.”

He points out that David has been instr umental in building trails and creating the Haw R iver State Park. David points out Daniel ’s devotion to the Bill Craf t Park au xiliar y.

A nn and Russ Robinson were also among or ig inal members. “T he au xiliar y star ted af ter Mr. Craf t passed away . . . We were in the g roup that got it going with the Craf ts and other neighbors — many of whom were f r iends and contemporar ies of Bill ’s,” she recalls.

A dozen or so au xiliar y members meet t wice annually at the Bill Craf t Park sig n, shar ing donuts and cof fee the Robinsons br ing before weeding, pr uning and clear ing.

Years ago, St yers helped with an inventor y that totaled 117 plantings. T he inventor y documented var ieties of dog woods, hollies, birches, buckeyes, elm, redwood, mag nolias, cher r ies and f r uit trees, plus nut trees, hemlock, pines, persimmon, sweet g um, oak s, spr uces, cedars, maples, cypress, and even unusual palms, roses, jasmine, lilac and anise.

Shelton St yers documents images on the Bill Craf t Park Au xiliar y Facebook page (w w w.facebook.com/g roups/16426520 0263243/ ).

On workdays, stor ies emerge about the man who inspired it all.

“We control the invasives. Pr une some things here and there,” Daniel says. “One of Dad ’s biggest reg rets was planting bamboo there.” He tack les the dreaded bamboo first.

For the Robinsons, the park became impor tant to their sense of communit y. “Our most recent park project has been ver y f un,” says A nn. “T here was a really big A sh tree that came dow n in f ront of our house in the park. It was dur ing COV ID. I’d been involved in a f undraiser in the mountains that involved mak ing wood-t ur ned bowls f rom a tree that came dow n and thought we could perhaps do the same for Craf t Park.”

Woodworker, R ick A ndrews made wooden bowls and or naments that were sold last year.

“We even had one bowl that we gave to R ip Ber nhardt — an old f r iend of Bill ’s who, although he lives at WellSpr ing now, always tr ies to come at least for the cof fee before the clean-up and visit. He was ver y touched by the bowl we gave him and to have a ‘piece of the park ’ and asked me to take his pict ure on the st ump of the old A sh tree to send to his f r iends.”

David adds, “One of his buddies, probably 20 years ago, said, one of your dad ’s g reatest sk ills was he can talk to the janitor of the company and the CEO of the company and make them feel equally impor tant.”

In 1991, the Greensboro Interclub Council recog nized Craf t’s outstanding civic leadership: a Jaycee, and a Red Cross and K iwanis member, he ser ved on most all the civic organizations. He joined nearly ever y outdoor g roup, including the Piedmont Appalachian Trail Hikers, the Guilford Wildlife Club and more.

David muses. “Dad used to say that being in the insurance business made him a good living and enabled him to do what he wanted to do . . . but if he could have been something else, he would have been a college professor.”

No doubt, a botanist. OH

Adopt a Pa rk Adopting a park helps keep public park s beautif ul. Contact A lex A lexandra Zalesk i, the cit y’s volunteer coordinator, at (336)–373–7507.