PERU — The Board of Selectmen will be presenting the town’s oldest resident with the Boston Post Cane at 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 27, prior to the regularly scheduled 6 p.m. selectmen’s meeting, according to town clerk Vera Parent.
Parent said that she is not releasing the name of the resident until the ceremony, as they are not aware that they are receiving the award.
The Boston Post Cane dates back to August 1909, when Edwin A. Grozier, publisher of the Boston Post newspaper, forwarded gold-headed ebony canes to boards of selectmen in 431 New England towns. He requested that each cane be presented, compliments of the Boston Post, to the oldest male resident of the town. It wasn’t until 1930 that women became eligible to receive the cane.
Parent said that when looking for the town’s oldest citizen, she “goes by a list of what we have on file for voter records.
“That’s why I did a shout-out back in October,” Parent said. “Some people move in with other people, and we don’t have them on record. I wanted to make sure that everyone had a chance to come forward.”
The recipient of the Boston Post Cane will have their name listed on a plaque at the Town Office and will receive a plaque of their own, Parent said.
The previous recipient of the Boston Post Cane, Elizabeth M. Child, passed away in 2013 at the age of 99.
mdaigle@sunjournal.com
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