100-year-old seeks to learn more

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Margaret “Peg” Ludwig, who turned 100 years old in May, is proof that you’re never too old to learn something new.

She taught herself to ride a bicycle at age 40, learned bridge at 86 and began using FaceTime on her smartphone when she was 98. She’s still tryingto master her iPad.

She was born in Johnstown, Pa., on May 4, 1918, the second of Albert and Amelia Seifert’s nine children. She married Garner Samuel Ludwig in 1941, and they moved to Pittsburgh when he got a job at Westinghouse. They had four children: Jane Broudy of Mt. Lebanon; Helen Morgan of Chevy Chase, Md.; Patti LudwigBeymer of Homer Glen, Ill.; andThomas Ludwig of Ross.

After 17 years as a homemaker, she went to work for the Pennsylvania Bureau of Employment Security. She retired in 1977 after 19 years of employment. Ms. Ludwig also continued to make her famous grape jelly, pies and cream puffs.

After they retired, the Ludwigs moved to Spring Hill, Fla., where she learned to weave baskets from pine needles she had collected in her yard. She also became an expert crossword puzzle solver. They traveled to Hawaii and took a helicopter flight over PearlHarbor and a volcano.

Mr. Ludwig died in March 2001 after 60 years of marriage. She moved back and now lives in Asbury Heights Independent Living in Mt. Lebanon, where she is active in book club, plays bridge and pinochle and attends exercise class, craft sessions and lectures. She previously performed with the Asbury Hillbilly Band.

Mrs. Ludwig has five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.