CARLYLE - Born in British Columbia, Judah Wardrope moved with his parents Ron and Jodi Wardrope and two younger siblings, Vashti and Kaeden, to Carlyle when he was nine years old.
Ron has been the principal at Arcola School for many years. Judah Wardrope's mother Jodi stayed at home at first, but having a passion for horses, helped out at an equine therapeutic ranch. Now she supervises kids at a Carlyle school that need extra help.
Vashti is an EMT paramedic in Carlyle and Kaeden is finishing school.
Judah Wardrope said when his family first moved to Carlyle, he had no friends, and his neighbour, Mel Freitag, took him to the farm where the young Wardrope could help with the animals.
“I call him grandpa Mel as he always treated me like family,” said Wardrope.
He loved feeding the cows and being outdoors, and his family enjoyed going hunting and fishing.
Wardrope joined minor hockey in Carlyle and played as a goalie, but the equipment was expensive, so he decided to play baseball and later joined the Moosomin Generals football team.
During this time, Wardrope always had a passion for music. He sang at open mics and was involved in the Prairie Country Music Association where he had a chance to do a recording.
Although he loves all kinds of music, country music is his favourite.
Having moved back and forth from Saskatchewan to B.C., he relocated to Mission, B.C. last June, moving in with his uncle Mike Wardrope. His parents and siblings remain in Carlyle.
He has worked as a wrangler on a ranch and is now learning carpentry skills. He wants to learn as much as he can.
Continuing to work and fulfilling his dream as a musician, Wardrope will release his first single on Feb. 21. It will be on all streaming platforms, and he is extremely excited to get the word out as much as possible.
The song, If I Die Tomorrow, has some deep meaning for Wardrope. He feels it is important to live each day to its fullest.
“There are times that people do not go after their dreams,” said Wardrope. “And then it is too late.”
“We never know when our time is over,” he said.
Right now, he is working on a music video for the song and booking shows with a full band.
He feels it is like a snowball effect when things start falling into place, with songs, a band and then travelling to do shows.
Wardrope has played in Saskatoon but another dream of his is to play at the Carlyle Fun Dayz.
“I want my music to bring joy to people and bring them together, through the love of music,” said Wardrope.
