Woman serves as mayor, bartender and sole resident of Nebraska town
Elsie Eiler manages the administration, finances and tavern of Monowi, which is recognised as the world's lowest populated incorporated town.
Elsie Eiler is the only resident of Monowi, a town in Nebraska that has been recognised by Guinness World Records as the incorporated town with the world's lowest population. According to a report by the Times of India, Eiler manages the entire administration of the village.
The town was once a railway settlement that reached a peak of 123 residents in 1930. Following a steady decline in population, only 18 people remained by 1980, and by 2000, only two residents lived there. After the death of her husband, Rudy Eiler, in 2004, Eiler became the sole inhabitant.
As mayor, Eiler handles municipal administration, road plans, finances and funding applications. She also performs the roles of town clerk, secretary and treasurer. She even issues herself the annual liquor licence for the Monowi Tavern, which she owns and operates.
The 93-year-old Eiler works at the tavern for approximately 12 hours a day, six days a week. She also maintains Rudy's Library, which she established in 2005 using her late husband's collection of around 5,000 books.
The tavern attracts visitors from all 50 US states and more than 60 countries. Eiler's daughter, Rene Lassise, noted that while outsiders may see the situation differently, there is genuine connection and camaraderie that keeps her mother attached to the place.
