She is the eldest daughter of Ralph and Edith Gartner, who were residents of Kyabram until Edith moved to Melbourne in about 1971.
Ralph, following his father’s footsteps, was the chief engineer at the Ky cannery during the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Joy grew up in Kyabram, attending Haslem St Primary School during World War II, until she left to finish her schooling in Melbourne.
She recently returned to Kyabram at the age of 93, to reminisce, revisit old acquaintances, and make some new ones.
She was hosted by the Kyabram P-12 College and accompanied by her son, Randall.
She visited landmarks from her past such as the site of her former school, St Andrews Anglican Church and even the house she grew up in, which still stands to this day.
Randall has video-recorded Joy voicing memories from her childhood in Kyabram up to the time she went to boarding school in Melbourne.
What was life like for a schoolgirl in a country town as the rest of the world was gripped by a terrible war?
What were the social conventions of the day and how have they changed?
Where were the horses tethered when the students rode them to school?
We can only get answers to these questions when we ask those who have a memory of those times.
Both Randall and Joy were welcomed most warmly by the current residents of Kyabram, and many casual conversations revealed connections and chains of descendants from the 1930s to the current day.
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