HUGO, Colo. -- When Hazel Eikermann was born, Teddy Roosevelt was president, there were only 46 states, and the average lifespan was about 47 years old.
She just celebrated her 109th birthday, and her entire town is celebrating with her.
If you ask her, age it just a number. Any number she picks.
"How old am I? 2!" she jokes to one party-goer, then slyly tells another. "Did you know I was only 57?"
So no, this great-great grandmother is celebrating another number: 109.
"Well, you know what? You live a day at a time," she said with a smile. "You don't think I look 109, do you?"
She doesn't look it. And she doesn't act it, either. Born in 1907, she vividly recalls her days as a teacher in a one-room school house.
"I loved it. I loved teaching," she said with a smile. "The kids were really good."
She grew up with 10 brothers and sisters, married her best friend and had three children.
"She was teaching Sunday school at about 100 years old," said Verna Miller, a longtime friend who said Eikermann was very active in her church and community in Flagler. She is also a bit of a card shark. "I learned to be a better Bridge player from her."
To celebrate, dozens of people in Hugo, where she lives now, gathered on the high school football field to form the numbers 109.
"I think it should be a tradition for every year she makes. It's a blessing," said one party-goer.
While she has some memory issues now and lives in the Lincoln County Hospital and Nursing Home, staff members say she is still sharp as a tack.
She credits her sense of humor, family and faith for her longevity.
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