Posted to Facebook August 9, 2012
Resident Florence (Penney) Stanley is the new holder of Shapleigh's Boston Post Cane.
Stanley, 98, accepted the cane at a special ceremony at the local gazebo during Shapleigh Community Day on July 21.
Stanley was born on April 27, 1914, in Alfred and attended the schools there.
She married Roland Stanley in 1948. Roland served in the United States military, so they traveled a great deal and had lived in many places. The couple did not have any children, but had many nephews and nieces.
Florence enjoys knitting, sewing, and gardening. Being an excellent seamstress, she once provided her customers with superb finished garments.
The couple retired and made their home on the Ross Corner Road in Shapleigh in the 1980s. Roland passed away on March 4, 2011.
The Boston Post Cane is a rich tradition in numerous communities. On Aug. 2,1909, Boston Post newspaper publisher Mr. Edwin Grozier sent to boards of selectmen in approximately 700 towns 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 in town. At his death, the cane would be handed down to the next oldest citizen of the town. The cane belonged to the town and not the man who received it.
The canes were all made by J. F. Fradley and Company, a New York manufacturer, from ebon 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. The board of selectmen was to be the trustees of the cane and keep it always in the hands of the oldest citizen. Apparently no Connecticut or Vermont towns were included.
In 1924, Mr. Grozier died and the Boston Post was taken over by his son, Richard. At one time, the Boston Post was considered the nation's leading standard-sized newspaper in circulation; however, 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 fortunate enough to have canes. As the years went by, some of the canes were lost, stolen, taken out of town and not returned to the selectmen or destroyed by fire.
The Town of Shapleigh has preserved the original Boston Post Cane in an especially designed case made by Melvin Brackett. Brackett also made a replica of the original cane that continues to be used for presentation and carries all of the same conditions which applied to the original cane. The only change to those conditions is that for many years now the cane has been presented to the oldest citizen, whether it is a man or a woman.
https://www.fosters.com/article/20120809/GJCOMMUNITY03/708099921
Resident Florence (Penney) Stanley is the new holder of Shapleigh's Boston Post Cane.
Stanley, 98, accepted the cane at a special ceremony at the local gazebo during Shapleigh Community Day on July 21.
Stanley was born on April 27, 1914, in Alfred and attended the schools there.
She married Roland Stanley in 1948. Roland served in the United States military, so they traveled a great deal and had lived in many places. The couple did not have any children, but had many nephews and nieces.
Florence enjoys knitting, sewing, and gardening. Being an excellent seamstress, she once provided her customers with superb finished garments.
The couple retired and made their home on the Ross Corner Road in Shapleigh in the 1980s. Roland passed away on March 4, 2011.
The Boston Post Cane is a rich tradition in numerous communities. On Aug. 2,1909, Boston Post newspaper publisher Mr. Edwin Grozier sent to boards of selectmen in approximately 700 towns 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 in town. At his death, the cane would be handed down to the next oldest citizen of the town. The cane belonged to the town and not the man who received it.
The canes were all made by J. F. Fradley and Company, a New York manufacturer, from ebon 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. The board of selectmen was to be the trustees of the cane and keep it always in the hands of the oldest citizen. Apparently no Connecticut or Vermont towns were included.
In 1924, Mr. Grozier died and the Boston Post was taken over by his son, Richard. At one time, the Boston Post was considered the nation's leading standard-sized newspaper in circulation; however, 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 fortunate enough to have canes. As the years went by, some of the canes were lost, stolen, taken out of town and not returned to the selectmen or destroyed by fire.
The Town of Shapleigh has preserved the original Boston Post Cane in an especially designed case made by Melvin Brackett. Brackett also made a replica of the original cane that continues to be used for presentation and carries all of the same conditions which applied to the original cane. The only change to those conditions is that for many years now the cane has been presented to the oldest citizen, whether it is a man or a woman.
https://www.fosters.com/article/20120809/GJCOMMUNITY03/708099921
Posted to Facebook August 9, 2012
Resident Florence (Penney) Stanley is the new holder of Shapleigh's Boston Post Cane.
Stanley, 98, accepted the cane at a special ceremony at the local gazebo during Shapleigh Community Day on July 21.
Stanley was born on April 27, 1914, in Alfred and attended the schools there.
She married Roland Stanley in 1948. Roland served in the United States military, so they traveled a great deal and had lived in many places. The couple did not have any children, but had many nephews and nieces.
Florence enjoys knitting, sewing, and gardening. Being an excellent seamstress, she once provided her customers with superb finished garments.
The couple retired and made their home on the Ross Corner Road in Shapleigh in the 1980s. Roland passed away on March 4, 2011.
The Boston Post Cane is a rich tradition in numerous communities. On Aug. 2,1909, Boston Post newspaper publisher Mr. Edwin Grozier sent to boards of selectmen in approximately 700 towns 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 in town. At his death, the cane would be handed down to the next oldest citizen of the town. The cane belonged to the town and not the man who received it.
The canes were all made by J. F. Fradley and Company, a New York manufacturer, from ebon 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. The board of selectmen was to be the trustees of the cane and keep it always in the hands of the oldest citizen. Apparently no Connecticut or Vermont towns were included.
In 1924, Mr. Grozier died and the Boston Post was taken over by his son, Richard. At one time, the Boston Post was considered the nation's leading standard-sized newspaper in circulation; however, 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 fortunate enough to have canes. As the years went by, some of the canes were lost, stolen, taken out of town and not returned to the selectmen or destroyed by fire.
The Town of Shapleigh has preserved the original Boston Post Cane in an especially designed case made by Melvin Brackett. Brackett also made a replica of the original cane that continues to be used for presentation and carries all of the same conditions which applied to the original cane. The only change to those conditions is that for many years now the cane has been presented to the oldest citizen, whether it is a man or a woman.
https://www.fosters.com/article/20120809/GJCOMMUNITY03/708099921
Resident Florence (Penney) Stanley is the new holder of Shapleigh's Boston Post Cane.
Stanley, 98, accepted the cane at a special ceremony at the local gazebo during Shapleigh Community Day on July 21.
Stanley was born on April 27, 1914, in Alfred and attended the schools there.
She married Roland Stanley in 1948. Roland served in the United States military, so they traveled a great deal and had lived in many places. The couple did not have any children, but had many nephews and nieces.
Florence enjoys knitting, sewing, and gardening. Being an excellent seamstress, she once provided her customers with superb finished garments.
The couple retired and made their home on the Ross Corner Road in Shapleigh in the 1980s. Roland passed away on March 4, 2011.
The Boston Post Cane is a rich tradition in numerous communities. On Aug. 2,1909, Boston Post newspaper publisher Mr. Edwin Grozier sent to boards of selectmen in approximately 700 towns 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 in town. At his death, the cane would be handed down to the next oldest citizen of the town. The cane belonged to the town and not the man who received it.
The canes were all made by J. F. Fradley and Company, a New York manufacturer, from ebon 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. The board of selectmen was to be the trustees of the cane and keep it always in the hands of the oldest citizen. Apparently no Connecticut or Vermont towns were included.
In 1924, Mr. Grozier died and the Boston Post was taken over by his son, Richard. At one time, the Boston Post was considered the nation's leading standard-sized newspaper in circulation; however, 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 fortunate enough to have canes. As the years went by, some of the canes were lost, stolen, taken out of town and not returned to the selectmen or destroyed by fire.
The Town of Shapleigh has preserved the original Boston Post Cane in an especially designed case made by Melvin Brackett. Brackett also made a replica of the original cane that continues to be used for presentation and carries all of the same conditions which applied to the original cane. The only change to those conditions is that for many years now the cane has been presented to the oldest citizen, whether it is a man or a woman.
https://www.fosters.com/article/20120809/GJCOMMUNITY03/708099921
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