The Boston Post cane remains a New England town staple (Printed Nov. 30, 2007)
By James V. Horrigan
Staff Writer
Blanche Cook never read a single issue of the Boston Post, but for the past three years her name has been on a plaque at town hall that will forever link her name to the now-defunct daily.
For more than a century the Boston Post loomed as one of the most popular newspapers in New England. The final issue rolled off the presses in 1956, but the name still holds a certain cachet among seniors in dozens of Maine towns.
Scarborough is one of them but the reason why has nothing to do with journalistic excellence or the color of its editorial stripe. Most people who remember the Boston Post do so because of a publicity stunt launched by its publisher, Edward Grozier, who in 1909 deposited hundreds of gold-headed canes made out of African ebony with the boards of selectmen in towns throughout New England.
The Boston Post canes, as they came to be known, were presented to the town’s oldest male resident, for his exclusive use, for the rest of his life, so long as he continued to reside in the town where he received it. After 1930 the tradition was opened to women, which is how on Aug. 18, 2004, Cook, then 103, came to be the 11th Scarborough resident since 1961 to be honored.
According to a set of guidelines for awarding the cane posted on the town clerk’s Web site, the cane belongs to the town, not the resident to whom it is awarded. When a cane holder dies or moves from Scarborough – including hospitalization, rehabilitation or nursing home admission lasting longer than 90 days – the cane must be returned to the town clerk and notices are placed seeking nominations for the next recipient.
Residents must be at least 90 years old and have resided in Scarborough for at least 20 years. A three-person committee, consisting of the town clerk, Scarborough Historical Society representative and Scarborough Lions Club representative make the final determination as to who is the oldest eligible resident.
They are on the awarding committee because the town clerk is the keeper of vital records, the historical society is the custodian of Scarborough history, and the Lions Club for many years handed out a brass lion to the oldest person in town.
But, according to Town Clerk Tody Justice, that’s not the only reason.
“For a while we weren’t sure where the cane was located and came to find out it was the Lions Club who had possession of it. They had been taking care of it for us,” she said.
But once the town established new guidelines and protocol for awarding the cane, the Lions Club brought it back to town hall.
“We didn’t want to keep control of it because it’s a historical artifact,” said Len Libby, a Lions Club member for 54 years and Blanche Cook’s son-in-law. “We received noticed that some towns’ canes had disappeared. They could’ve been lost or stolen but we know that a couple have ended up on eBay,” he said.
As such, Scarborough’s Boston Post cane is now kept under lock and key in a display case at town hall.
Libby said there is a reason why the 20-year residency requirement was established, too.
“Someone could come into the Vet’s Home from out of state, from out of town, or some other place and say ‘Hey, I’m older than she is. I want the cane,’” he said.
Despite the rule requiring that the cane be returned if a recipient moves from one town to another, Libby’s wife Lorraine, who is Blanche Cook’s daughter, remembers a faux pas that no one is eager to repeat.
“They gave it to an individual one time a number of years ago, a man from Higgins Beach. It turned out he already had one from another town that he had lived in before. He brought it with him when he moved here,” she said.
Today, honorees receive a small silver charm inscribed with their name, age, and the date it was presented.
Cook is now 106, but there’s no indication that she will be surrendering her title any time soon. She is spry and witty, given to daily walks around the Maine Mall, and proud to declare that she takes no prescription medicines.
“Nothing except cod liver oil,” her son-in-law, Len Libby said at the Westwood Avenue home that he and his wife share with her mother.
“I never had high blood pressure,” she said.
“No, she didn’t,” her son-in-law agreed. “She gave it.”
A lifelong baseball fan, Blanche Cook remembers the Red Sox winning the World Series in 1918, 2004 and 2007.
“I watched every game all summer on TV,” she said.
Staff Writer
Blanche Cook never read a single issue of the Boston Post, but for the past three years her name has been on a plaque at town hall that will forever link her name to the now-defunct daily.
For more than a century the Boston Post loomed as one of the most popular newspapers in New England. The final issue rolled off the presses in 1956, but the name still holds a certain cachet among seniors in dozens of Maine towns.
Scarborough is one of them but the reason why has nothing to do with journalistic excellence or the color of its editorial stripe. Most people who remember the Boston Post do so because of a publicity stunt launched by its publisher, Edward Grozier, who in 1909 deposited hundreds of gold-headed canes made out of African ebony with the boards of selectmen in towns throughout New England.
The Boston Post canes, as they came to be known, were presented to the town’s oldest male resident, for his exclusive use, for the rest of his life, so long as he continued to reside in the town where he received it. After 1930 the tradition was opened to women, which is how on Aug. 18, 2004, Cook, then 103, came to be the 11th Scarborough resident since 1961 to be honored.
According to a set of guidelines for awarding the cane posted on the town clerk’s Web site, the cane belongs to the town, not the resident to whom it is awarded. When a cane holder dies or moves from Scarborough – including hospitalization, rehabilitation or nursing home admission lasting longer than 90 days – the cane must be returned to the town clerk and notices are placed seeking nominations for the next recipient.
Residents must be at least 90 years old and have resided in Scarborough for at least 20 years. A three-person committee, consisting of the town clerk, Scarborough Historical Society representative and Scarborough Lions Club representative make the final determination as to who is the oldest eligible resident.
They are on the awarding committee because the town clerk is the keeper of vital records, the historical society is the custodian of Scarborough history, and the Lions Club for many years handed out a brass lion to the oldest person in town.
But, according to Town Clerk Tody Justice, that’s not the only reason.
“For a while we weren’t sure where the cane was located and came to find out it was the Lions Club who had possession of it. They had been taking care of it for us,” she said.
But once the town established new guidelines and protocol for awarding the cane, the Lions Club brought it back to town hall.
“We didn’t want to keep control of it because it’s a historical artifact,” said Len Libby, a Lions Club member for 54 years and Blanche Cook’s son-in-law. “We received noticed that some towns’ canes had disappeared. They could’ve been lost or stolen but we know that a couple have ended up on eBay,” he said.
As such, Scarborough’s Boston Post cane is now kept under lock and key in a display case at town hall.
Libby said there is a reason why the 20-year residency requirement was established, too.
“Someone could come into the Vet’s Home from out of state, from out of town, or some other place and say ‘Hey, I’m older than she is. I want the cane,’” he said.
Despite the rule requiring that the cane be returned if a recipient moves from one town to another, Libby’s wife Lorraine, who is Blanche Cook’s daughter, remembers a faux pas that no one is eager to repeat.
“They gave it to an individual one time a number of years ago, a man from Higgins Beach. It turned out he already had one from another town that he had lived in before. He brought it with him when he moved here,” she said.
Today, honorees receive a small silver charm inscribed with their name, age, and the date it was presented.
Cook is now 106, but there’s no indication that she will be surrendering her title any time soon. She is spry and witty, given to daily walks around the Maine Mall, and proud to declare that she takes no prescription medicines.
“Nothing except cod liver oil,” her son-in-law, Len Libby said at the Westwood Avenue home that he and his wife share with her mother.
“I never had high blood pressure,” she said.
“No, she didn’t,” her son-in-law agreed. “She gave it.”
A lifelong baseball fan, Blanche Cook remembers the Red Sox winning the World Series in 1918, 2004 and 2007.
“I watched every game all summer on TV,” she said.
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