Hulda Erdman turned 106 years old in July and, when asked for the secret to her longevity, the centenarian offered a simple yet profound response: “My Lord.”
After telling FKYR-TV she doesn’t know “where those 106 years went,” she credited God and her involvement in her church choir for her long life.
“Well, my dear, there is no secret,” Erdman said. “My Lord has just made me that old. Singing in the choir and all that kind of stuff.”
Next to her faith in the Lord, the most significant part of Erdman’s life has been her affinity for music. She has played piano for years — a skill she learned from watching her brother play, although she doesn’t know how to read music; she plays entirely by ear.
“That’s all in my head,” Erdman said after playing a song on the piano at Baptist Health and Rehab in Bismarck, North Dakota, where she lives. “My arms got tired. They said, ‘Enough is enough, Grandma!’”
Despite some general aches from arthritis, Erdman is very healthy.