Ronald Williamson lived in the Blue Ridge Mountains in 1972 when he married a DeLand native whose family traced its roots in Volusia County to 1803. He fell under the spell of the St. Johns River country and began writing stories about this place that fascinated natives and transplanted residents alike. A natural storyteller, his knowledge is gleaned through more than three decades of local reporting about news, personalities and history for the Daytona Beach News-Journal. He has won numerous writing awards on a regional, state and national level.
