Ludwig celebrating 100

ELMA - If you were born in the perfect spot, then why leave? That’s how Joe Ludwig feels about the Lourdes/Elma area.

He was born on 4/10/22 and will see 4/10/22 again. Coincidence? Of course not! Ludwig is turning 100 on Palm Sunday.

He credits the Good Lord for getting him this far in life. But there are other reasons. His mother lived to be 93 and his father was 89 when he passed.

In addition, Ludwig has a positive attitude, enjoys where he is and appreciates his family and friends.

All the dancing he did with wife Elsie over the years probably helped a little as well!

He has been living at Afton Oaks in Elma since Nov. 9, 2019. His family wanted the couple to stay there for three months, through the winter. “But when January rolled around, I knew we’d stay.”

Elsie was slowing down a little, and passed away in May 2020. Joe is happy to be at Afton Oaks. “What they can’t do here, my family takes care of.”

He said he grew up in the horse era. “Now they have tractors run by GPS.”

The biggest changes he has seen in Elma are taking place now. “We’ve got a good group of young people who have taken over the town and are bringing it back to life. We got the clinic and now we’re getting an ambulance.”

Advice Joe gives to anyone is to start saving for retirement early. “Start right after you get out of high school. Beware of get rich quick schemes. You’ll probably lose money.”

Joe was born and grew up west of Lourdes and attended Howard #1 when he was a small lad of four! A few years later, he stayed at his grandparents’ house and went to Howard #10. He also attended Lourdes Catholic School and Howard #7. 

Since he attended so many schools, it may seem like he was a world traveler in his adolescent years, but as Joe explained, “Back then, schools were two miles apart, so there was no more than one mile that a kid had to walk.”

As was the norm in the 1920-30s, Joe graduated from eighth grade at Lourdes. He started out for a few months in ninth grade, but quit school completely to farm. “I think Dad was glad I quit, because then had a hired man for room and board.” He joked, “The rest I learned in the school of hard knocks!”

With the start of World War II, the residents of Cresco wanted to give the local young men a step up when joining the Army. “A very knowledgeable blacksmith taught night school. We learned about metals and welding. 

“I made a lot of chisels and punches. They be heated in a forge and had to shape and temper them. Tempering was the big secret. They had to be hard. The classes lasted 3-4 months.

“We destroyed a lot of antiques that I wish we had today,” he recalled. During WWII junk and metal drives were held to help with the war effort.

At the time, the high school had manual training and the group trained in those shops. [He recalled the blacksmith was Sebastian, who had his blacksmith shop where the parking lot of Spahn & Rose is located today.]

In early 1945, Joe was a young married man and went to join the Army. He took his physical in January or February. He was told they’d call if he was to be called for duty. It never happened.

“I was self employed all of my life,” Joe noted. He first rented a farm for five years. The couple then purchased a small farm.

“It was hard to make a living on a small farm, so you had to have another job. I did some carpentry work on the side.”

Everything happens for a reason. On one carpentry job, Joe was waiting on the local plumber to finish his work so Joe could start on his. “He was short on employees and asked me to help.”

Joe became a partner. “When the owner retired, I took over. The shop was located where O’Brien is today. I had Joe Plumbing and Heating for 29 years Then I sold it to the hired man.”

Owning a business is not always glamorous. As the boss, when the phone rang on his off hours, Joe had to drop what he was doing and go fix something. He’s gotten calls on New Year’s Eve or Christmas Day that a furnace was out.

While Joe was working in the business, Elsie took care of their six children and did the bookwork.

One thing the couple enjoyed doing together, besides dancing, was vacationing and wintering in Florida. They first went there in 1981 and spent time down south for 35 years. They originally went down to spend a week or so with their son and daughter, who had moved there. Then they purchased a home. 

For many years, they spent six months in Iowa and six in Florida. They moved back for good in 2018. “We had a great time. We made so many friends from all walks of life,” Joe remembered.

The couple also traveled to President Jimmy Carter’s inauguration in Washington, D.C. in 1974. As usually happens, it was 32 below zero in Iowa, and Joe had to fix a furnace before they left.

Wanna live a long and healthy life. Follow Joe’s example. Dance with your honey. Invest wisely. Love your family. Trust God. Pretty simple words of advice.

To congratulate Joe on his birthday, attend the open house for him on April 10 from 2-4 at Memorial Hall in Elma. Music is provided.