George had been a miller in Denmark where he lived near the German border. Arriving here fluent in German and Danish, he would not speak English for some time. Nevertheless, George would later become one of the trustees of his local school board.
Earning and saving from 12-hour night shifts at a flour mill in 1900, George was able to lease 310 acres of farm land as part of the Bandini Spanish Land Grant from Bandini's mother-in-law, Arcadia B. de Baker. In the language of leases in those days, he was "to cultivate said premises in a good, farmer-like manner" and "sow and harvest corn, wheat, oats or barley." He would grow these and later, alfalfa, to feed the local transportation (horses).