John Stehr/Eyewitness News

Batesville - A Hoosier centenarian's story proves you are never too old to achieve your dreams, even if your dreams seem way out of reach. For Ethel Mathias, that meant a whirlwind trip to Texas for a private meeting with one of the most famous people in the world.

From the time she was born in a small Indiana town, Ethel Mathias had big dreams. Batesville in 1905 had more horse buggies than automobiles. It was a remote, simple life, and Ethel lived by a simple credo.

"Take part in everything you can. You should learn something new every day," she said.

For Ethel, that's a lot of learning. Along the way, she taught others a few things too. She started her teaching career in 1924. A few years later, she and a fellow teacher took a car trip to the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles for the 1932 Olympics.

"I am amazed now as I think back on my life how many wonderful things have happened because of my friends," said Ethel.

Ethel had wide-ranging interests, including a passion for presidential politics. She remembers rooting for Woodrow Wilson in 1912 and casting her first vote for Herbert Hoover in 1928.

Nineteen men have lived in the White House during her lifetime, but the president she admires most is George H.W. Bush. She always wanted to meet him, but at 105 years old and living in Batesville, such a meeting didn't seem likely - until a friend told her story to "Never Too Late," a group that helps senior citizens fulfill a dream.

Before she knew it, Ethel was at Mt.Comfort Airport surrounded by family members, caregivers and volunteers from Never Too Late, boarding a Lear jet bound for the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library in Houston.

It was a two-hour flight to fulfill a dream almost a century in the making, with the Hoosiers who helped make it happen fully aware of the trip's meaning.

"I'm thinking this was just destined to be. There was a reason that I learned to be a pilot because someday I'd be able to touch people's lives and help somebody do what they really wanted to do. And it came true today," said pilot Dave Bego.

When the big moment came, Ethel chatted with the former president about politics, dancing, and growing old gracefully. She gave him a copy of her book called "The Life of a Centenarian" and, in a surprise, her new friend introduced her to another strong woman who married one president and gave birth to another: Barbara Bush.

Her book may already be in print, but Ethel is not finished adding chapters to her extraordinary life. The memories and the pictures from Houston tell just the latest part of her story.

"Just to see the president and shake his hand is a great event in my life. I never dreamed that such a privilege would come," she said.

Ethel is not done dreaming yet. Her next goal is to go to the moon, something she says she would do tomorrow if she had the chance.

If you would like to help Never too Late sponsor trips for others like Ethel, see their site.