The Town of Skowhegan Heritage Council would like to restart our Towns tradition of recognizing one of our eldest citizens with the presentation of The Boston Cane. The Boston Post Cane tradition was established in 1909 by the Boston Post newspaper. A special cane was presented to the Board of Selectmen in 431 towns in New England, to be presented as an honor to each town's eldest resident. The recipient held the honor as long as he/she lived. Upon his or her death the cane would be awarded to the next eldest resident.

The official cane would belong to the Town and not the resident who received it in order to provide for the reservation and public awareness of the tradition and protection of the cane from loss or damage.

The Heritage Council and the Board of Selectmen or his or her designee shall present the eldest resident with a certificate, a replica cane and have their picture taken.  

 Eligibility and Selection:

The holder of the Boston Cane must be the eldest known resident and must reside in the Town of Skowhegan. The term 'resident' refers to a person who intends to physically reside at a fixed, permanent and principal home in the town.  They may also be living in Skowhegan with family or in an assisted living/nursing facility.

Recognizing that the Town has no formal means of identifying residents by age, selection of the honoree shall be by the Board of Selectmen and the Heritage Council.

Method to Search for Oldest Resident:

There shall be a notice posted and publicized in other ways which are normally seen by the residents.  Nominations for those residents who can prove their age and is currently a resident of Skowhegan, Maine. All nominations must be received in the Planning Office no later than February 12, 2018.   The nomination may come from family or friends. A nomination form may be obtained from the Town Planning Office or E-Mail ckirk@skowhegan.org or by printing it from our web site.

Presentation:

The Skowhegan Heritage Council and Board of Selectmen or his/her designee shall present Skowhegan’s eldest resident with a certificate and a replica cane signifying the honor.

The location of the presentation will be determined according to the circumstances of the honoree.

The recipient will retain this honor as long as he/she lives even though another resident may become eligible. The Planning Office must be notified if the recipient of the Boston Post Cane passes or otherwise refuses or returns the honor. At that time the Heritage Council shall determine the new eldest resident of Skowhegan, Maine and present the name to the Board of Selectmen.