It might take Milton Wend more than just a few seconds to blow out his birthday candles — the Lemont resident has 100 to make a wish on this year.

But Wend has a hard time thinking of himself as “old.”

“You always think you’re younger than you are,” he said. “Until your legs tell you otherwise.”

These days, Wend still gets around quite well, especially in the kitchen where he can often be found baking pies and bread or whipping up a roast or chicken.

Cooking has always been a hobby of Wend’s. At one time it was a career.

After serving in World War II, Wend worked at a local bank for several years before taking over the family business, Wend’s Tap, with his two brothers in the early 1960s. The restaurant, located at the corner of Stephen and Main streets, closed in 1984.

“(It) was a favorite Lemont restaurant for many, many years,” said Rose Yates, also a lifelong Lemonter. “They did a big lunch business and always had homemade pie.”

Wend lived most of his life on Main Street in Lemont. He was 5 when his family moved there, and he did not move out until 1997. He now lives on Wend Street with his brother, Albert.

Wend was born a century ago with the help of a midwife.

“There was no prenatal care and no after care,” he said. “It cost my parents $10.”

As a child, he could often be found playing kick the can with friends or swimming and boating.

“We didn’t have much in the line of entertainment in those days,” he said. “We entertained ourselves.”

An attempt to make a scooter out of a roller skate and a piece of wood failed miserably.

“I went head over heels,” Wend said. “The whole thing collapsed.”

It was the crash of the economy that put a damper on the possibility of marriage for Wend. He got out of college in 1929, just when the Great Depression was beginning.

“How do you get married on $50 a month?” he said. “And just when I started to get back on my feet, I was called into the service. But it’s an experience I don’t regret.”

While the 100 years is a milestone for many, living long is not uncommon for the Wend family.

Wend’s father, Emil, lived a week short of his 101st birthday. His sister, Vanita lived to age 83.

And his three brothers are still living and reside in Lemont. They are Emil, 98, Karl, 93, and Albert, 85.

Wend chalks up his long life to good genes, vitamins and the daily happy hour he shares with his brothers.

Each day at 4 p.m., they get together for a few beers.

“That’s what keeps us going,” Wend said.

Albert Wend enjoys their ritual.

“It’s a hard habit to break,” he said with a laugh.