ZELIENOPLE - At age 79, Jean Kirmeyer doesn't give a second thought about slowing down.

"I've got a long way to go yet," said the secretary of the Plus 60 Bowling League at Freeway Lanes. "Just look at Marie."

Every senior citizen should.

Marie Harper, 92, of Connoquenessing Township is the eldest member of the 32-member league, which has an average age of nearly 80. The youngest bowler in the circuit is 73.

Harper's bowling average is 105 - third lowest in the league - and a far cry from the 145 she carried in her younger days.

But she can still get it done on the lanes - and enjoys doing so.

"I bowled a 210 last year," Harper said. "(Team captain Bob Frederick) won't let me forget it. But I'm not happy with the way I've been bowling. I can do better."

Harper was so convinced she could improve that she bought a 12-pound ball after using the same 10-pound ball for 25 years.

"I couldn't use it.… Too heavy," she said. "I had to sell it and go back to my old ball."

Harper walks to the edge of the foul line, stops and uses a backhand flip to send her ball down the lane.

"When I tried throwing it this way (extending her hand with the palm up), the ball almost hit the ceiling," she said. "After that, I just started doing my own thing."

One of the original founders of the Plus 60 League and the only one still bowling, Harper has been with the league for 25 years. She has been bowling for more than 40 years.

Harper said she helped organize the league through the Zelienople Seniors Center, the source of the first group of bowlers.

Don't expect her to quit anytime soon.

"I love the camaraderie and everyone is so nice and friendly," Harper said. "I'll be bowling here even if I have to crawl on my hands and knees."

Harper still drives a car - she's still making car payments, in fact - and missed only a month of bowling after being involved in a serious automobile accident in January 2003, suffering a fractured sternum in the mishap.

"I was driving north and the other car was coming south and came into my lane," Harper said. "I hit my brakes, but he kept coming. He hit me and dragged my car along with his."

"Marie is such a good example for everybody," Kirmeyer said. "Most old people would take a long time to recover from an accident like that, if they recovered.

"She is a nice person with a terrific attitude about everything. She keeps busy. It seems like she never sits down" she added.

Harper has held numerous jobs during her lifetime. Her last job was at Brittner Smokehouse at age 80. She's also been a member of the Harmony Women's Moose for more than 25 years.

Married for 33 years, Harper's husband died in 1963. She has 11 children, 24 grandchildren and 16 or 17 great-grandchildren.

"It's hard to get it exact - I lose count," she said, laughing.

Harper hosted Thanksgiving dinner Thursday for approximately 33 family members.

Her secret to staying so active?

"There is no secret," she said. "I had to learn how to be independent many years ago. As for driving, I have no choice if I want to go anywhere. I live out in the boondocks."

One place she always goes is Freeway Lanes for the Plus 60 league on Wednesday afternoons, where her team is tied for first place.

"I've got to bowl better," Harper said. "I have to do my part."

She already does - as a role model.

"I can point out 15 people in this league 80 years old or better, we have two blind bowlers … they all marvel at her," Kirmeyer said. "She's an amazing woman."