Hero of the Week: April 21, 2025: Elsie Eiler – Monowi, Nebraska’s Population of One
Hero of the Week
Elsie Eiler
Monowi, Nebraska’s Population of One
April 21, 2025
“I believe in living each day and not worrying about down the road.”
~ Elsie Eiler
Hero of the Week, April 21, 2025
Elsie Eiler
Ninety-year-old Elsie Eiler has gained international attention for being the “one” in her small Nebraska town’s population of one. However, anyone who dives into the details of her story can see that Eiler is as noteworthy for her excellent character as for her zip code.
Monowi is located in northeastern Nebraska, four miles from the South Dakota border, and its population has been steadily declining since its pre-WWII heyday as a railroad and farming/ranching hub. By 1980, the town had a population of 18, and, by the 2000 census, there were just two residents—Eiler and her husband. When her spouse died in 2004, Monowi earned the distinction of becoming a one-resident town.
Monowi may be the smallest municipality in America, but according to various media accounts, it remains “very much alive” thanks to Eiler’s dedication. She continues to run the Monowi Tavern that she and her husband started in the 1970s (relaunching a business that had once been her father’s), and she also serves as Monowi’s town clerk and mayor. (Every year, she posts a notice in her bar announcing the mayoral election and then votes for herself and pays herself taxes.) In addition, she is town librarian, having honored her late husband’s wish to convert his 5,000-volume book collection into a public library.
People Magazine, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Country Living, the BBC, the German Times, and many other media outlets have featured Eiler, who has also appeared in commercials for Prudential Insurance and Arby’s.
With all this public notice, Elsie and Monowi Tavern attract visitors from all over the U.S. and the world—at last report, every single U.S. state and 80 different countries. She started a guest book in 2004 and is now on her tenth. A Solari team member who had the opportunity to speak with Eiler reports that Elsie is a “true jewel” representing the best of American womanhood in so-called flyover country. We congratulate Eiler on her determination to keep Monowi on the map. She told one news outlet, “I don’t get lonely. I have too many interests and old friends.”
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Hi Catherine, your work gives me a new hope. I’m in small town BC now, and lived 28 years in Ottawa, Canada. I’ve always believed in smart investing of people-banks like family and friends, and yet my parents were military and believed in the “cause”. My dad had a saying, never do business with family. Can you imagine?
Having worked in the mastercard/banking industry for 10 years, I have seen a whole lot. They forced us as employees to lie or omit information (like how much interest a customer had paid in the lifetime of their account), then punished us when they got caught. Lots of funny business. A saying on the top of each door< "think of yourself as a customer." lol.
This bank's employee agreement form is kind of creepy too, as in they demand ownership of all your ideas and energy? Then they are the first bank to attack the truckers. I witnessed the freedom convoy too. The police were the menacing force, otherwise it was a festive atmosphere the entire time, even with the honking. I could fall asleep to that sound.
Also in Canada, a politically-exposed person(s) will have a separate banking system in each bank. PS. That real estate list on this above video was made with AI? Struck me as an odd moment. If this is true, she is a powerhouse!
Rayelene:
Thanks for positing. This is what they would do to the US civil service. Order them to lie, then blame them if the lies were caught.
Love the story!
We need to hear more about people with grit and contribution to society. She’s a national treasure.