MONROE – At 102, Mildred Bernitt still keeps up on current events.

She reads her newspaper every day, and isn’t afraid to give her opinion on local issues. For example:

"Bringing a casino to Monroe County is absolutely ridiculous," she said. "Every town they’ve ever touched has been ruined."

As for the people who want to bring a casino to Monroe, "I’d like to knock a few in the head," she said.

She’s free with her opinions, for those who want to listen.

"I don’t go out and electioneer," she said. "They come to me and I tell them what I think."

Don’t take her the wrong way. She’s a nice woman, she’s well read, she’s interesting, and she’s got an easy smile that shows up often in conversation.

"She’s got a great sense of humor," said Joann Rinne, activities director at the Monroe Lutheran Home, a care facility for the elderly.

Bernitt moved into the Lutheran Home more than six years ago. Having lived in only two houses her entire life, the move was quite an adjustment, she said.

"That thing goes on all day long," she said, referring to a loud vacuum cleaner. "Somebody’s always running it."

She gets a lot of visitors, which is nice, she said.

"I’ve made some interesting acquaintances since I’ve been here. There isn’t a life you touch that can’t bring you something."

Bernitt was born in a log cabin in LaSalle on Feb. 5, 1901. She, her parents, three sisters, two brothers and grandfather were all crammed into the same small living space.

"It was a nice home," she said. "It was pleasant. I have a lot of good memories as a child."

Bernitt remembers skating on a frozen pond in winter with her brothers and sisters. Her mother would have chocolate and warm cookies waiting for the children when they returned.

"That was a lot of fun," she said. "Just average living."

When her younger sister was born, her parents replaced the log cabin with a larger house. Life became a bit more comfortable for everybody.

Bernitt said living with her grandfather, a Civil War veteran, was the greatest thing that happened in her life.

"He was a great reader," she said. "He would sit and tell us so many stories.

"He had two brothers. They were all in the Army at the same time. He had a great big wound in his side."

Her grandfather predicted metal airplanes before they were a reality, she said.

"He always would say to us children, ‘One day, steel is going to fly.’ We said that was impossible. Well, it’s flying, isn’t it? He was right."

Bernitt inherited her love of reading from her grandfather. She reads her newspaper and her Bible every day, she said.

She married Otto Bernitt on June 1, 1920. The couple moved to Monroe, to a house on Sixth Street, across from the high school. She lived in that house over 75 years.

"My biggest memory is being a farm girl and coming into Monroe," she said. "In the city, you shake your dust mop and it goes into another person’s yard. Out in the country there’s a lot of space."

Otto worked for two grocery stores and a lumber company before he retired. He died 25 years ago.

"It’s been a long time," she said. "I just had one husband. He was a dandy."

Bernitt and her husband had two children, a son and daughter. Her daughter is deceased, and her son, Richard, is a retired policeman who lives in Lansing.

What’s kept her going all these years?

"My Lord," she said. "I couldn’t have done it without him."

She stays occupied at the Lutheran Home with reading, trivia classes, sowing and quilting.

"I’m busy all the time," she said. "I like that. I don’t like to be idle."

Staff Writer Matt Milkovich can be reached at mmilkovich@heritage.com or 1-734-243-2100.