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At 101, Ena Hopkins is Westford’s oldest resident and therefore the keeper of the Boston Post Cane.
In a small ceremony at the nursing home where she lives family and friends gathered on May 23 to celebrate her accomplishment, sharing cake and memories. Earlier in the week, she had been unable to attend a Gay 90s luncheon for any resident age 90 or older. The annual event is sponsored by the Friends of the Cameron Senior Center, Emerson Hospital, Cook Oil Company, Westford Rotary and Westford Florist.
Hopkins will have the cane for as long as she lives.
The Boston Post Cane dates back to 1909 when the Boston Post newspaper — now defunct — sent canes made of ebony with gold caps to 700 New England towns. The canes were to be given to the oldest residents in each town.
Hopkins was born in Newport, Vermont in 1917. She met her husband William on a blind date just after World War II ended, when they were both living in Bridgeport, Connecticut. They married in 1945 and had three children: Dana, Kevin and Linda.
The couple relocated to Westford center in 1954. Ena spent 25 years working at the town’s nursing home on Main Street, now a private residence. The family lived in the Graniteville section until Ena moved to the elderly housing complex on Tadmuck Road. Hopkins now resides at a long-term care facility.
She will turn 102 on Nov. 20.
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