History of the Boston Post Cane

On August 2, 1909, Mr. Edwin A. Grozier, Publisher of the Boston Post, a newspaper, forwarded to the
Board of Selectmen in 700 towns (no cities included) in New England a gold-headed ebony cane with the
request that it be presented with the compliments of the Boston Post to the oldest male citizen of the
town, to be used by him as long as he lives (or moves from the town), and at his death handed down to the
next oldest citizen of the town. The cane would belong to the town and not the man who received it. In 1930, after considerable controversy, eligibility for the cane was opened to women as well.

The canes were all made by J.F. Fradley and Co., a New York manufacturer, from ebony shipped in
seven-foot lengths from the Congo in Africa. They were cut to cane lengths, seasoned for six months,
turned on lathes to the right thickness, coated and polished. They had a 14-carat gold head two inches
long, decorated by hand, and a ferruled tip. The head was engraved with the inscription, — Presented by
the Boston Post to the oldest citizen of (name of town)—“To Be Transmitted.” The Board of Selectmen
were to be the trustees of the cane and keep it always in the the hands of the oldest citizen. Apparently no
Connecticut or Vermont towns were included (at one point it was thought that two towns in Vermont had
canes, but this turned out to be a bit of a myth).

In 1924, Mr. Grozier died, and the Boston Post was taken over by his son, Richard, who failed to continue
his father’s success and eventually died in a mental hospital. At one time the Boston Post was considered
the nation’s leading standard-sized newspaper in circulation. Competition from other newspapers, radio
and television contributed to the Post’s decline and it went out of business in 1957.

The custom of the Boston Post Cane took hold in those towns lucky enough to have canes. As years went
by some of the canes were lost, stolen, taken out of town and not returned to the Selectmen or destroyed
by accident.
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About 2011, the Wilmot Select Board asked the Historical Society to take responsibility for the Cane and determining the eligible recipient.