GEORGE FAMILY

GEORGE FAMILY. GEORGE FAMILY

1991 – current

Ken George and Judy Draper first visited Nyabing as guests of the Jury family. Ken had met Duane while working as the Piggery demonstrator at the Narrogin Agricultural College where Duane was a student.

When Ken was getting together a team of Supermods to race in the Narrogin Speedway Association, he remembered Duane often speaking of his father Norm’s old Supermod that lay in a shed on the farm. Ken rang Duane to see if he was interested and as history reveals, Duane was able to convince his Dad to give him his car to restore.

Ken & Judy’s wedding

Before long, Ken and Judy were hosting a large number of the Nyabing ‘mob’ at their home in Cuballing on race meeting weekends. That was the initial link between Ken, Judy and Nyabing.

Then way back in 1991 Pops (as Ken was known), received a phone call from young Michael (Mick) Jury with a query as to whether he (Ken) was interested in moving to Nyabing by applying for the job as the Kent Shire mechanic. With the assistance and generous hospitality of Norm and Gloria, Duane and Leanne and Mick and Leonie, Ken and Judy left from Salmon Gums virtually overnight.

They arrived at the Jury farm “Tobruk”, unloaded all their possessions into the shearing shed and despite being homeless and jobless over the weekend, by Monday Ken had the job and they had a shire house in Pingrup.

Of course both wanted so much to live in Nyabing where their friends were and after eighteen months when the shire hadn’t been able to accommodate them, Ken left to take up the offer made by Charlie Borlini to go into his own mechanical repair business in what was called Charlie’s Yard that had once been the Shire Depot. At that time Judy was also asked by new friends Janet and Mike Darwood if she would be their relief School Bus driver.

Over the next twenty years, Ken has worked in most roles within the shire and Judy has continued to drive school buses. They built a house at 6 Aspendale Street, Nyabing and many years later were married on the front lawn.

The George home in Nyabing

Ken’s lawn and gardening passion was a great topic of conversation, as was his woodworking skills that have been popular with many of the ladies needing the odd job done.

Judy’s mark comes in the inaugural CWA Market Day, that Jo Addis has so tenaciously continued to deliver annually and the inaugural Nyabing Theatre Arts Group (TAG). It was soon discovered that with Judy being involved in anything, you got two for the price of one. Ken, being the talented craftsman, became a great asset to the CWA, TAG, Pingrup Potters and all other groups that Judy would be involved in.

Judy later became a Civil Marriage Celebrant as a way to serve the community further and Ken once again assisted in numerous ways. Ken continues to potter around his garden and can be seen almost daily attending to the weeds (with a strange looking goblet in his hand).

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