Betty Shively accepted the Boston Post Cane surrounded by her close friends and family. Contributed / OceanView
Falmouth resident Betty Shively, 101, recently received the town’s Boston Post Cane in recognition of being Falmouth’s oldest resident.
Shively, who has lived in Falmouth for 23 years, was born Grace Elizabeth McComb in Haddonfield, New Jersey, on July 23, 1922. She graduated from Temple University in 1944 with a degree in medical technology and worked in the diagnostic laboratory at Cooper Hospital in Camden, New Jersey, according to a press release. She married Edward Shively in 1953, and in 1957 the couple moved in to Raymond, where they raised three children.
In 2000, Shively relocated from Raymond to OceanView in Falmouth, where she continues to reside. She is active in the OceanView community, where she has been treasurer of the residents’ committee, works in the library and helps with the summer fundraiser. She is a member of Falmouth Congregational Church.
The Boston Post Cane tradition began in 1909, when Edwin Grozier, publisher of the Boston Post newspaper, sent gold-headed canes to towns across New England to recognize the oldest citizen of the town. The tradition is still carried out in many towns across Maine.
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