ARUNDEL – Victorine Cote, 93, was presented the Arundel Heritage Cane on June 29 in the Arundel Town Hall Meeting Room. The cane is given as an honor to the oldest resident in Arundel. Cote accepted the cane, saying, “I would like to extend my appreciation and gratitude to the Arundel Historical Society for acknowledging and honoring me. It was an unexpected pleasure and honor.”

 Victorine Legros Cote was born in St. Pamphil, Quebec in September 1933. Her father, Alphose Legros, was a lumberjack and her mother, Marie Rose Pelletier, was a homemaker who raised six daughters and four sons. She was 17 years old when she moved to Lyman and in 1958 became a citizen of the United States. She raised four children in Lyman, and after a divorce in 1964 eventually relocated to Arundel, where she has lived for the past 48 years. “I have been blessed with loving, caring and wonderful neighbors while living here,” Mrs. Cote said.

Once Cote accepted the cane, it was placed back in the case that hangs in the Town Meeting Hall alongside a remembrance plaque with the names of past recipients.

The Heritage Cane idea is not new – the Arundel Historical Society used the example of the Boston Post Cane to get started. The Boston Post Cane began as a New England tradition by Edwin Grozier in 1909 as a way to boost circulation for his newspaper. The states included in this endeavor were Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. The cane itself was made of Congo ebony and topped with a gold cap with the town’s name on it. Grozier selected small towns for the cane, and 700 were distributed all over New England to be presented to the oldest resident. 

Unfortunately, over time the canes got lost, mislaid, or not returned, so many towns stopped the practice Years ago, while Arundel was still part of Kennebunkport, Kennebunkport was given a cane. With the two towns now separate entities, in 2022 the Arundel Historical Society decided to initiate their own cane to celebrate the town’s older residents. 

NOTE: Jake Hawkins is on the board of directors of The Local News.