Last living carver of Mount Rushmore celebrates 98th birthday

KEYSTONE, S.D. -- Nearly 400 people carved Mount Rushmore and only one is still living today.

Nick Clifford celebrated his 98th birthday surrounded by family and friends who traveled all over the world to honor him and his work, according to KEVN-TV.

"They're all gone now. I'm the last one so I'm happy that my health is good and I plan on living to quite a while yet," Clifford said.

With the help of his wife Carolyn of 45 years, Nick is still putting a dent in history.

"He's been a wonderful man. He's very kind and generous, and somewhat shy. You wouldn't know that since he's in the public but he enjoys what he's doing a lot," Carolyn said.

Nick and Carolyn are still involved with the National Memorial, providing answers to the many questions people have about the legendary mountain.

"Somebody else was going to write a book about Nick and I just decided since I have the questions and Nick wrote out the answer, we'd just publish our own," Carolyn added.

So his hands, his voice, and his heart are still moving this mountain.

"It makes me feel really good that all those people come and I get to talk to them and tell them the story about Mt. Rushmore," Clifford added.

Clifford's been the last living carver for 12 years and hopes to keep living many more.