Published: September 19, 2008 10:37 pm            

Michigan bridge walk is highlight for local woman

For Jeannine Bench, age is relative.

The 80-year-old Richland Township woman awakens early every morning, heads to The Galleria and walks three miles a day.

It’s an exercise routine that has prepared her for the Mackinac Bridge Walk, a Labor Day tradition on the five-mile span that connects Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas.

“When people used to say they’re 80, I thought, ‘Oh my God,’ ” Bench said with a laugh. “Now, I am.

“I can’t believe it. I’m still in good shape for 80.”

Bench isn’t about to let life pass her by.

“She’s a very dynamic person,” added her son, Claude Bench, 60, of Marlboro, Mass. “Nobody believes she’s 80.”

Born in Normandy, she met her late husband, Anthony, shortly after the Americans landed on the French shores.

“He used to pass my house every day as a soldier,” Bench said with a French accent. “One time, he stopped to talk to me. My mother said, ‘Would you like to come in?’ And that was it.”

The couple was married for 47 years before Mr. Bench passed away 15 years ago.

After World War II, Mr. Bench and his wife moved to his hometown of Johnstown, where he worked in the mills.

Job security was anything but: He routinely was laid off, or workers went on strike.

“I learned to sew during the war,” Bench said. “I thought I might as well do something with myself.”

In 1960, she opened Jeannine Fashions, a bridal shop on Main Street. She operated the store for 20 years before selling it in 1980.

Now, 28 years later, Bench admits that she has slowed somewhat.

“I don’t do much all day now,” she said. “I’m retired and I’m tired.”

Bench has passed on her love for exercise to her son. He has participated in 19 marathons from Boston to New York to Bermuda to Greece.

Or perhaps vice versa: Claude ran track in high school and did the Johnstown Marathon in 1976 and 1977.

“She kind of feeds off some of the stuff that I’ve done,” he said.

It was on a trip to Michigan with her son that the two discovered the Mackinac Bridge Walk.

“We were riding around one time when we were up there, and he said, ‘I heard every Labor Day, they walk on this bridge,’ ” Mrs. Bench recalled. “He said, ‘Mom, you walk all the time. You should do it.’ ”

Mrs. Bench has participated in the past three bridge walks, and she hopes to do it again next year if her health permits.

“We were lucky we got beautiful weather,” she said of the most recent walk. “There’s always a little breeze, so you don’t sweat much.

“It’s like a marathon,” she said of the crowd. “It’s spectacular.”

Claude Bench describes his mother as a dynamic, sharp and considerate woman.

“She’s very, very thoughtful,” he said. “I’m 60, and she still sends me home with groceries and homemade food.”

He said his mother loves to watch game shows on television, often yelling out the answers.

“She grew up in France and came here after World War II,” Claude Bench said. “But she’s probably as knowledgeable in American history as a lot of people in this country.”

        

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