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LEEDS — A small group gathered recently in Leeds Center to take part in the presentation of the Boston Post Cane to Constance S. Buckley.
The cane is presented to the town’s oldest resident.
Buckley, 97, was presented the cane on behalf of the town by her son, Leeds Selectman Dwight Buckley. Also in attendance were her daughter, Sharon, members of the Leeds Historical Society, and a few close friends.
Buckley was born in Litchfield and raised in East Monmouth. After earning an RN degree from Central Maine General Hospital, she worked there in the operating room until she married Gilbert Buckley in 1950. The family moved to Leeds where, on the family farm, she raised her children and was deeply involved in serving the town as a member of the Leeds Community Church and Leeds Historical Society, and, for many years, as town treasurer.
After the presentation, while the group enjoyed light refreshments, Buckley reflected on her long life and shared the advice her mother had given her as a child. “Be kind, be honest, be quiet, and behave yourself.” It’s advice which has obviously served her very well, participants agreed.
The Boston Post Cane tradition began in 1909, when the Boston Post newspaper distributed the canes to towns throughout New England with instructions that each should be presented to the oldest man in the town, to be used by him as long as he lives, or until he moves away. The newspaper said that the cane would belong to the town and not the man who received it. Women were included in 1930. The cane is made from Gabon ebony and its head is finished with a 14-carat gold top and is elaborately sculpted. As many as 700 canes were originally conferred by the newspaper, which folded in 1956, and hundreds of towns in New England still bestow it.
