Old friends together for 101st birthday milestone

Friends made during almost half a century farming at Drouin West were among those that joined Maryellen Roy to celebrate her 101st birthday.
Mrs Roy, who now lives at Doncaster East with her daughter Cheryl after a health scare eight years ago, maintains close contact with her former home area and still subscribes to The Gazette to keep in touch with what's happening in the Drouin and Warragul districts.
Her later years at Drouin West threw up some major challenges, especially after the death of her husband Frank in 2007 that left her to rebuild the majority of the farm after bushfires - although her house fortunately escaped the inferno.
The fires, however, did have a valuable upside for Mrs Roy.
She became involved in the Labertouche and nearby community that came together after the fires, regularly meeting to share their experiences and bond together.
Among the people she became close friends with were Lois Platt and Jan Hutton who travelled to Doncaster East for the birthday celebrations earlier this month.
Mr and Mrs Roy moved from a family orchard to farm cattle at Drouin West in 1968.
Mrs Roy continued to run the farm for eight years after Frank's death until her move to live with her daughter.
She still remains active with the garden and growing of summer and winter vegetables that she shares around with anybody that drops by the house.
Word puzzles occupy plenty of time and she looks forward to summer sports and seeing how Australia's tennis players and cricketers perform.