For Jan Williams, farming peaches isn’t just a business—it’s been a way of life.

“I grew up on a peach farm, so I’ve been doing this my whole life,” Jan said. “It was in my blood to continue this.”

As one of five children, Jan spent her summers helping on her family’s peach farm, grading peaches, driving tractors and working alongside her parents and siblings. Although she followed her father’s advice and became a teacher, her love for farming never faded.

While teaching, Jan convinced her husband, Art, to let her plant a small peach orchard on the family’s land. They started with just two acres and a tiny roadside stand housed in an old ham house built by her father-in-law. From those humble beginnings, the farm steadily grew.

Today, Kalawi Farm is a thriving operation known for its peaches and one of the area’s most beloved summertime destinations: Ben’s Ice Cream.

The farm’s name itself tells a family story. Kalawi Farm combines the first two letters of the names of Jan and Art’s first three children: Katie, Laura and Will.

Then came Ben.

“We didn’t know we were going to have Ben,” Jan said with a laugh. “We had already named the farm.“

Their surprise youngest son missed getting his name included in the farm’s title, but when Jan decided to turn a core childhood memory into a new business venture, she named the ice cream shop after him.

Growing up, Jan’s mother made homemade peach ice cream every Sunday during the summer.

“It was a ritual,” Jan said.

Inspired by those memories of her mom, Jan suggested making peach ice cream using the farm’s own fruit. Her husband, Art, wasn’t entirely convinced at first, but the idea was a hit.

Today, Ben’s Ice Cream serves dozens of flavors throughout the season, many made with fruit grown right on the farm.

Family remains at the center of everything they do. All 10 grandchildren have flavors named after them.

For Katie, Jan and Art’s oldest daughter, growing up on the farm shaped her life in ways she still appreciates today.

“We all still live within about a three-mile radius of my parents,” Katie said. “All of our children are getting to grow up together on the farm too.”

As Randolph EMC helps power portions of the farm and business, Kalawi Farm continues serving as a place where family traditions are preserved and memories are made.

For Katie, preserving that legacy is one of the family’s most important goals.

“We all care a lot about the heritage of Eagle Springs and the Williams and Harmon families,” she said. “We’re trying to teach our children that it’s important too, so there will be no end to our farm and our business.”