In front of a full house at the Jefferson town office, the community’s selectmen awarded the Jefferson Cane to the town’s oldest resident.
On Monday, Sept. 21, Frances Williamson, 97, was recognized as Jefferson’s oldest resident, becoming the third person to receive the Jefferson Cane.
Williamson was born in 1918 on a farm in Morrill.
In 1941 she married Donald Johnston and they moved to a working farm in Jefferson that would become known as Lakeview Orchards.
During the presentation ceremony on Monday evening, Williamson told those in attendance of her first Thanksgiving in Jefferson in 1941.
Having recently moved to the town with her husband, she wanted to spend Thanksgiving in Jefferson, but she said a number of family members had difficulty reaching the farm that Thanksgiving due to a blizzard.
Williamson was joined Monday evening by a large number of family members who gathered to honor one of their oldest relatives.
Williamson was presented the cane and a certificate of recognition by her grandson, Jefferson Selectman Gregory Johnston.
Jefferson Selectmen Pamela Grotton and Robert Clark Jr. were also in attendance at the award ceremony.
In addition to working on the farm, Williamson had a beauty shop in her home and worked her last appointment at the age of 92.
Williamson has been an active member of the community throughout her time in Jefferson, belonging to the Order of the Eastern Star, the Jefferson Historical Society, the First Baptist Church, and the Jefferson Woman’s Club.
Following Donald Johnston’s death, she married Andy Williamson.
Williamson is the third recipient of the Jefferson Cane, with Rebecca Preston and Blanche Westrich receiving the cane in years prior.
The Jefferson Cane was donated to the town of Jefferson in 2010 by the family of Andrew W. Williamson II.
The cane is presented by the town’s selectmen, in the tradition of the Boston Post Cane, to the oldest resident of Jefferson.
The Boston Post Cane was a tradition started by Edwin A. Grozier, the publisher of the defunct Massachusetts newspaper the Boston Post, in 1909, when the oldest residents of a number of New England towns were recognized with the presentation of a ceremonial cane.
Canes were handed out in towns across Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
The Jefferson Cane is permanently displayed at the town office on Washington Road.
Though Frances was excited to receive recognition from the community, she said the best part was seeing a large number of her family members together.
“It’s nice to see them all together,” she said.