ROSEBURG, Ore. — A 102-year-old Oregon woman has been making a difference in her community for more than a half-century.
Peggy Konzack is at the YMCA in Roseburg several times a week, helping children between 6 months and 3 years old get used to the water in the swimming pool. She's taught at the YMCA since 1968.
"It's just a joy in my life. I'm playing with them," Konzack told KVAL. "I'm not working, I'm playing."
Her instruction has been especially helpful to Jennifer Reid, whose daughter, Lyla, is deaf.
"Peggy's really great because she integrates a lot of gestures and simple signs," Reid said. "And especially the one-on-one, getting one-on-one support, just the three of us, learning to swim has made all the difference."
Her teaching style started 54 years ago, almost by accident.
"I came here to the Y just to relax and swim and friends said, 'How about taking my baby to the baby class?' And I said, 'Sure, I'll be glad to,'" Konzack recalled.
At 102 years of age, she has no plans of stopping.
"I'm inspired to get up in the mornings, get ready. And I still drive my car and come to the Y and spend the morning," she said.
She's been doing the class for so long, she's even taught multiple generations of the same families.
"Sometimes I say, 'Oh, it's time to retire.' And then someone will say, 'No Peggy, keep going, keep going.' So, here I am," she said.
So she'll keep showing up, singing the "Hokey Pokey" and making little ones laugh, while teaching them an important lesson.
"Getting those kids safe around water. That's our number one priority, and Peggy has been a main person in being able to do that in our community," said Steven Stanfield, CEO of the YMCA of Douglas County.
"What else can I do that is more rewarding?" Konzack said.
Konzack credits her longevity to a clean diet and staying active, which includes swimming 10 to 12 laps in the pool on days when she's not teaching.