Florence Haggett, 102, was recently given the Boston Post Cane for Boothbay Harbor. The Boston Post Cane is traditionally given to a town's oldest resident, and while Haggett no longer lives in Boothbay Harbor, her life was spent here and her legacy on the residents is felt strongly by all who know her.

Haggett was nominated by Peter and Nancy Gilchrist of East Boothbay, recently retired proprietors of the Ebb Tide restaurant in Boothbay Harbor.

The Gilchrists met Haggett in 1975, while she was the bookkeeper at Harbor Motors, located next door to the Ebb Tide.

“She is the most upbeat, personable, helpful and warm-hearted person on earth,” the Gilchrists wrote in their nomination. “She always delights in encounters with children ... she has a wonderful memory of the amusing and triumphal episodes of a 100-year slice of the history of Boothbay Harbor and is a local and Boothbay Harbor cheerleader of the first magnitude.”

According to Peter Gilchrist, Haggett befriended their then 2-and-a-half year old daughter while working next door to them.

Haggett moved to Kennebunk in the winter of 2012 to Huntington Common, an assisted living facility. While she dearly misses Boothbay, according to the Gilchrists, who visited recently, she enjoys living closer to her two sons, Courtney and Richard.

According to Town Clerk Michelle Farnham, a case is currently being made to hold the actual cane, which will be displayed in the Town Office along with a plaque with names of recipients. The most recent holder of the cane before Haggett was Evelyn Keene.

“You could find no greater advocate for the storied history of Boothbay Harbor,” Gilchrist said. “Nor could you find a more deserving person to honor.”

Related:

100 years of Florence Haggett

Pass the cane