Seeing a woman born a century ago wielding an electric bass guitar isn’t something you come across every day. But for those who know Armina Joos, it’s just another ordinary Thursday.

Joos, who was born in Miles City in 1923, turned 102 last Saturday. Her secret? Wild game, music and Jesus Christ.

“Stay away from the hospitals,” she said. “That’s where people die.”

In anticipation of Joos’ birthday “open house” for family, friends and fellow church-goers at their Belgrade home, Joos and daughter Sherryl Greenig shared a century’s worth of living.

“I love living,” Joos said. “My brain still works pretty well, and my body has slowed down quite a bit, but it still works.”

Joos’ father’s migrated from Germany to Miles City when he was 12 years old.

“My parents were really poor,” she said.

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