Special to the Star-Herald
PORTAGE – Portage Lake’s eldest resident, Celia Beaulier, received the town’s Silver Cane at a celebration at the Portage Lake Town Hall recently. Celia was born on May 11, 1921, in the Portage Lake area known locally as Buffalo, and still lives in the house where she was born. Her parents, David and Bessie McGaughy DeMerchant, lived in the Portage Lake area since 1902.
Celia attended the local schools in Buffalo for her elementary education and went on to the Central School in Portage where she graduated from the two-year high school program in 1936. She then attended Presque Isle’s high school to complete the final two years, graduating in 1938.
On Oct. 22, 1938, she married Henry Beaulier of Ashland and Portage. The couple had seven children, four boys and three girls: Bernard, Darrell, Dalton, Kevin, Loversa, Bonnie and Patsy.
The family lived in Connecticut from 1965 to 1999, making many trips home for visits. Celia said they both felt that “Down there was just a job, Buffalo is home” and always kept Portage Lake in their hearts. She now spends every summer in her Buffalo home and has a garden and grows raspberries and blueberries. For the past seven years she has gone to Florida to spend the winters. Celia is actively involved in Portage’s Centennial plans and the writing of the town’s project, “Our History and Hearsay,” an upcoming publication.
Photo courtesy of Wilza Robertson
CELIA BEAULIER, of Portage, was presented with the Silver Cane at a ceremony at Town Hall. The honor is bestowed on the community’s oldest citizen. Pictured, from left: Beaulier’s son, Bernard Beaulier; Daughtor-in-law Barbara Beaulier; Celia Beaulier; Selectmen Ray Cyr, Deary Gagnon and Gary Hafford.
