By Madison Butkus
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Returning for its second consecutive year, the Walpole Council on Aging (COA) presented the Boston Post Cane to a new recipient on Thursday, January 4th. Seniors gathered for light refreshments of coffee and cookies while learning about the history of the Boston Post Cane and this year's new grantee.
Leading the presentation was Betsey Dexter Dyer, who had previously presented the Boston Post Cane on January 12th, 2023. In this specific presentation, she discussed the nature of the Post Cane, the approximately twenty-five Walpole recipients over the years, the award's decline in the 1920s, the confusion at Town Hall from the 1960s to the 1980s, Walpole senior Karl West who revived the tradition, and the two current holders of the Post Cane.
The Boston Post Cane tradition, initiated by Edward Grozier, the owner of the Boston Post Newspaper, began in 1909. The cane, made of ebony with a gold foil head, was engraved and produced in a quantity of 700 for New England towns and some small cities, excluding Connecticut and Vermont. It was presented to the oldest registered male voter in each town, given that women were not allowed to vote at that time.
Controversy arose over whether females should be considered for the award, leading to a halt in the Post Cane award throughout the 1930s. Eventually, women were considered, but the next eleven recipients in Walpole were all men. In the 1960s-1980s, the Walpole Town Hall misplaced the Post Cane, discontinuing its presentation.
Selectman Frank Smith rediscovered the cane but chose to place it in a vault. The tradition shifted from physically awarding the cane to "crowning" the oldest living member of the town/city due to canes being misplaced in homes across New England.
In 1986, all women became recipients of the award in Walpole. The last recipient was in 1996, but Karl West, a respected senior at the Walpole COA, revived the tradition with Betsey's assistance. Despite Karl's passing, the tradition resumed in Walpole last year.
The latest recipients of the Boston Post Cane in Walpole are Frieda Alpert, aged 101 as of 2024, and John Crossen, aged 101 as of 2023. During the ceremony, the Post Cane Award was passed to the newest honoree, Arthur Landfors. Mr. Landfors, the oldest man in Walpole, lives next door to the oldest woman, Ms. Alpert. He received a pin, a certificate, and the opportunity to hold the Post Cane. Mr. Landfors, a World War II veteran in the Coast Guard, later created baskets under the Nantucket Lightship Basket enterprise with his wife.
