A Good Age: At 104, Air Force veteran Gladys Laughland inspires

KINGSTON – If you can't imagine what birthday gift you might give someone who is turning 104, Gladys Laughland knows just what to recommend.

Laughland reached 104 on June 23 and she was all smiles with her new Air Force Veterans hat and the town of Kingston's Boston Post Cane, traditionally awarded to its oldest resident.

"But you don't have to use it, do you?" Chris Mele, executive director of Wingate Residences at Silver Lake, said as he bent down to admire the cane.

Laughland, who is in assisted living, uses a rolling walker to get around, enjoys bingo, card games, watching movies and "is always looking for something to do," Julie Derr, life enrichment director, said.

"You never know!" Laughland quipped with a smile, showing the sense of fun that endears her to the staff and other residents.

The Air Force cap came courtesy of Paul Meallo, a van driver at Wingate whose wife was Laughland's admissions nurse in 2010. Laughland is an Air Force veteran of  World War II and one day recently when Meallo had his Air Force hat on, she asked to wear it.

After family, friends and staff sang "Happy Birthday," Mele thanked Laughland for living to 104 "with the dignity and grace she has given us. She is just a wonderful person here. Her personality and sense of humor are just absolutely wonderful."

Since Laughland doesn't always like to acknowledge her age, Mele added, "We are here to celebrate the person, not the age."

Paul Gallagher, Kingston town clerk, and Keith Hickey, town administrator, presented her with the town's Boston Post Cane for being the oldest resident of Kingston.

What is the Boston Post Cane?

In 1909, Gallagher said, Edwin Grozier, publisher of Boston Post newspaper, gave a cane to the boards of selectmen in towns throughout New England. The 700 canes were to be awarded to the oldest males in each town; in 1930, after controversy, the oldest women were also eligible, according to the Boston Post Cane website.

"Only a select few still have that original cane and Kingston is one of them," Gallagher said. "Your name will be engraved on it and it will be on display in a case in town hall with the names of everyone else who has been a recipient.

"Congratulations and maybe you can beat the oldest person (to ever receive it in Kingston) who was 107."

Laughland laughed. Later Gallagher said the next two oldest residents in Kingston are Helen Malloon and Margaret Spalluzzi, both 101 this year.

Kingston honoree: Hingham honors its Rosie the Riveter Margaret Spalluzzi at WWII shipyard

Fresh air: These are the best places to take a hike or a walk on the South Shore this summer

The original cane in town hall is made of ebony with a 24-carat gold head. Gallagher gave Laughland a replica of that cane to keep – one of six replicas the town has left from a boxful provided by former selectman Mark Beaton, who bought them some 20 years ago.

Laughland gave her cane a few sturdy taps from her seat and said, "It's gorgeous."

Gladys Stein Laughland's story

Gladys Stein Laughland, who also lived in Braintree and raised her daughter and two sons in Rockland, moved back from Florida in 2010 to the assisted living residence in Kingston.

Twice widowed, she is the last survivor in her family of seven children and sometimes says, "I don't understand why I'm still here" but keeps a positive attitude.

She has attributed her longevity to "hard work." Her daughter, Linda Ryan, of Marshfield, suggested another quality associated with centenarians may also deserve some credit.

"She was always stubborn and independent and had a steel magnolia spine," Ryan said.

She enjoys reminiscing and, Derr said, her stories sometimes recall times and situations "where she didn't give in. I've told her she is inspiring."

Gladys Stein grew up in Pittsburgh with four brothers and two sisters and was working in Joseph Horne's department store when World War II broke out. She decided to join the Air Force, along with many other young women. She served from 1942 to 1945, working as a supply clerk at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base near Tucson, Arizona.

Vitality together: 'An asset for the whole town': Marshfield unveils bigger, better senior center

She met her first husband, Francis Griffith, in the Air Force. After he died at age 52, she worked two jobs, for Stop & Shop in Quincy as a cashier, where she was a union steward, and at an area 99 Restaurant. Then in 1985, she moved to Florida where she met her second husband, Herb Laughland, who died in 2007. At age 92, she returned to the South Shore to be near family and settled in at Wingate at Silver Lake.

Her family held a second 104th party for her a week ago, with her daughter, Linda, and her husband, John; her sons, Bob, and his wife Holly, and Bill, and his wife, Patty, and many others.

She didn't bring her cane. She did arrive wearing her Air Force veterans hat.

As she sat down at the table, she said, "Although a woman who is wearing a hat can usually come to the table with it on, I will take mine off, because it is a veterans' hat."

Her family, friends and Wingate staff are all hoping, as Mele said, "there will be many more to come." And they are counting on her response:

"There'll be plenty."

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Patriot Ledger subscription. Here is our latest offer. 

Reach Sue Scheible at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Air Force veteran Gladys Laughland, 104, awarded Boston Post Cane