Presentation of the Boston Post Cane

May 29, 2021

In 1909 the now defunct Boston Post newspaper distributed the walking canes to 700 New England towns, an idea they hoped would boost readership. 

The canes were made of ebony imported from Africa and crowned with 14 karat gold and were presented in varying degrees of ceremonial pomp to the oldest living male of those communities.

Women were added to the list of cane recipients starting in 1930.

Along the way many towns have had their canes stolen or lost. At some point in time Porter lost its cane, however, someone spotted it at a yard sale, purchased it and returned it to Porter.

Because of that kind deed we are happy to present our Boston Post Cane to Adrian Durgin.

Adrian was born on September 16, 1924 in Porter and graduated from Porter High School in 1942. He joined the Air Force during World War II and returned to Porter following his time in the Air Force. He left us for a time to work at Pratt & Whitney in Connecticut, but returned when he retired. He was a driving force behind our beautiful Porter Veterans Park. 

Thank you, Adrian, for your service to our country and the Town of Porter.

Municipal Building info:
 71 Main Street
Porter, Maine 04068
Tel:  207-625-8344
Fax: 207-625-4120
Web: www.portermaine.org

----------------------------------------------

Porter  is located fifty (50) miles southwest of Paris in the southern end of  Oxford County. Formerly called Porterfield Plantation.  It was settled  about 1781 and named for Dr. Aaron Porter, and was incorporated on  February 20, 1807.

Our  population is 1498, and we are part of Maine School Administrative  District 55 along with the towns of Baldwin, Cornish, Hiram, and  Parsonsfield.