By Marilyn Fish
Mrs. Adeline Smith, who will celebrate her 100th birthday later this year, will be formally recognized as the oldest citizen of Becket, Massachusetts,* when the town’s select board presents her with the Boston Post Cane at 3 p.m. on Friday, June 6, in the Town Hall Community Room.
The Boston Post Cane tradition began in August 1909 when Edwin A. Grozier, publisher of the Boston Post, launched a public relations campaign aimed at increasing readership. He sent 700 gold-headed ebony walking canes to the boards of selectmen of 700 New England towns with the request that each be presented with the compliments of the Post to the oldest male citizen of the town. It was to be used by that person until his passing and then handed on to the next-oldest citizen of the town. In 1930, after considerable controversy, eligibility for the cane was opened to women.
The canes were made by J.F. Fradley and Co., a New York manufacturer, from ebony shipped in seven-foot lengths from the Congo. The head was engraved with an inscription reading, “Presented by the Boston Post to the oldest citizen of [name of town]. To Be Transmitted”. The select boards were the trustees of the canes and were expected to keep them always in the hands of the oldest citizen. More than 500 towns in New England still carry on The Boston Post Cane tradition with the original canes they were awarded in 1909.
While the tradition is great, it has not always been foolproof. Quite some time ago Becket needed to secure two duplicate Boston Post Canes as the original was lost. One duplicate belongs to the Historical Commission and stays in a display case in Town Hall. The second belongs to the Select Board as originally established by the Boston Post Cane regulations. The Select Board then establishes the procedure for awarding the cane to Becket’s oldest citizen. Becket provides the cane to the recipient to enjoy during their lifetime, after which it is returned to the Select Board for the next recipient.
*Mr. William (Bill) Robinson of Becket, who marked his 100th birthday on April 24, 2025, is a few months older than Mrs. Smith but declined to accept the Boston Post Cane. See more on Mr. Robinson in the April 2025 issue of the Becket Beat.
