Greenville’s oldest resident receives the community’s Boston Post Cane

By Shelagh Talbot
Special to the Observer

    GREENVILLE — The Boston Post Cane was recently presented to the oldest resident of Greenville, Sarah Dean Fahey, at a delightful gathering at the C.A. Dean Nursing Home where she resides.
    Many members of family and relatives applauded as Candy Russell, executive director of the Moosehead Historical Society and Museum, presented the memento to Greenville’s oldest resident.

SARAH DEAN FAHEY

    This cane, with its ebony shaft and 24-karat gold head was original — dented a bit during its 105-year history — but elegantly engraved and still bright.
    Sarah, who will turn 103 on Nov. 29, was 2 years old when the idea of presenting the cane to 700 of the oldest residents of various towns scattered about New England came to Edwin A. Grozier, the newspaper’s owner. Greenville was one of those fortunate towns.
    Sarah Dean Fahey has a long family history closely woven with the growth of Greenville itself.
    Her father, Ernest Linwood Dean, owned and operated a successful lumber and hardware business in Greenville Junction.
    The original building, located next to People’s United Methodist Church, was razed a few years ago while another larger building still stands on Pritham Avenue. It consists of some apartment units, My Girlfriend’s Closet, Sadler Jewelry and Moosehead Veterinary.
    When Sarah was a teen, she went to work for her father as an accountant. According to her niece, Jeanne Wortman, Dean was very proud of his daughter. “She was the best bookkeeper I ever had,” he said on many occasions.
    Sarah loved music as much as she did math; and after high school, attended the eponymous Berklee College of Music in Boston. “I loved to play the piano and the organ,” she said. “Music has always been very special to me.”
    She married Bob Fahey after finishing college and the couple moved to Brunswick, where Bob was a linotype setter for the Brunswick Times. He was well-liked amongst his peers and known for his keen wit. Sarah became a full-time mom raising two sons, Dean and Donal.
    After her husband’s death, she returned to Greenville and currently resides where family members visit often. “I love all this attention!” Sarah laughed as numerous relatives hugged her after the ceremony.
    The Boston Post cane is back on display at the Shaw Public Library in Greenville, resting in a special glass case.