On Aug. 24, Millie Kucel Pollock celebrated her 100th birthday at Shepherd of the Valley Niles with a small family celebration.
Millie has lived at Shepherd of the Valley since 1984.
"One day she said I'm selling the house," her son Norman said, "and she moved to an apartment at Shepherd of the Valley in Niles that had opened up."
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Special to The Niles Times
Millie Pollock, seated in front, celebrated her 100th birthday Aug. 24 at Shepherd of the Valley Niles. Pictured with her, from left, are daughter-in-law Patricia and her sons, Ron Pollock and Norman Pollock.
According to Millie's writings from August 2002, titled ''My Story,'' her parents emigrated from Yugoslavia in 1906. She was their fourth child, born in Hillsville, Pa. In 1913, her father took the family back to his hometown in Yugoslavia. After joining the Army when World War I broke out, he never returned. Millie said he was likely killed in action, but the family never received information on what happened to him.
One of her favorite memories was living in a house at the seminary where her brother was studying to be a priest.
"It was a nice house," Millie said, "with a fenced yard and fruit trees and plenty of room for a garden."
In 1926, her mother was able get enough money to send Millie and her sister, Dorothy, to America, where they joined family in Bessemer, Pa. Dorothy moved to Warren and eventually married and settled in Niles.
In 1933, Millie moved in with them and met her husband, Kenneth Pollock. They were married in 1937 and had three children.