LAKEVILLE — An active lifestyle and a loyal feline friend are the secrets to resident Elizabeth Bryant’s longevity.

On August 10, Bryant will celebrate her 102 birthday. To honor this impressive age milestone, Lakeville Historical Commissioners presented Bryant with the town’s “Boston Post Cane” at the Lakeville Council on Aging on Friday, Aug. 2.

Bryant was presented with the award that recognizes Lakeville’s oldest resident by Commissioners Brian Reynold, Geri Taylor, Delia Murphy, Nancy Lafave and Joan Morton. 

Her son Roger Bryant and friends Dotti Diuti and Karen Lolli were also present for the occasion. 

The secret to her longevity, Bryant said, has been staying active, “doing a little bit of this and that” and her cat, Jinglebells. 

Honoring the longest-living member of the community with a gold-headed ebony cane commenced as a bit of newspaper advertising and has become a 115-year-old tradition. 

The custom originated in 1909 when the editor of the Boston Post newspaper sent gold-capped ebony walking sticks to 700 Massachusetts towns on the request they be presented to each town’s oldest resident with compliments from the Boston Post, according to the Lakeville Historical Commission. 

Women became eligible to receive the canes, which were originally only presented to men, when they were given the right vote, according to Lakeville Historical Commissioner Delia Murphy. 

The walking sticks were originally given to recipients to keep, but now are preserved in a glass case in the Lakeville Historical Museum. Those honored with the award are instead given a Boston Post pin to take home. The last regular recipient of the cane was Isabel Willis, who passed away in 1956.