Staff Writer 

At 107, Blanche Cook died the oldest person in Scarborough on Sunday, June 7. 

She was born in 1901 in New Hampshire and grew up in Pownell. Cook moved to Scarborough in 1947, the days when the fire station was full of horses rather than fire trucks and a narrower, quieter Route 1 ran through the center of town. 

“It seems like just yesterday,” Cook told the Leader during an interview last July. “It was a lot quieter then, but you’re bound to have change. I don’t mind it. What are you going to do to stop it anyway?”

Having moved to Scarborough more than 50 years ago, Cook attended both the town’s 300^th anniversary celebration and rode in last year’s 350^th anniversary parade. Some things never change; at both events, Cook said she was intrigued by a “shave tax” fundraiser where clean-shaven men were required to pay a fine.

Cook enjoyed being taken out to diners and restaurants throughout Maine by her daughter and son-in-law, especially when the trip took her through rural areas that allowed her to “get back,” to the surroundings she remembered from her childhood.

“I can always eat,” she said.

Cook considered herself the last remaining member of the original Small family – her maiden name – after her brother died in 2007 at the age of 100. She said she was also considered one of the oldest Pownell natives. Cook credited her long life to a lucky streak of good health and her go-getter mindset. 

“I am the oldest [Cook sibling] and I’m the toughest!” she said in July. “You have to just keep going; don’t give up. I get up every morning with the idea I have someplace to go.”

On Tuesday, Loraine Libby – Cook’s only child – said there will be no funeral per Cook’s request. A memorial service was not scheduled as of press time.

Staff Writer Nate Jones may be reached at 282-4337 ext. 233.