WINTERSET, Iowa (KCCI) - A central Iowa woman celebrated her 108th birthday Wednesday, KCCI reports .

Pauline Jones was born in Forest City in 1917, and can still recall stories from her grandfather, who served in the Civil War in the 1860s.

“They didn’t fight the wars then like they do now. He had to ride a horse down and fight that way,” she said. “That was before my time.”

Jones is a proud Iowan. While she lived and worked in St. Louis for a decade, she has always had roots and family in Iowa.

“My favorite place is in Iowa, of course. I was born here [and] raised here,” Jones said. “I was a farmer’s daughter and a farmer’s wife.”

Jones has been living alone in her Winterset home for 30 years, and said the sense of independence she experiences keeps her spirits high.

“I would be

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