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Show SiMut.n. Jiiiu- J .Mil.'. tradition lives Came M l M.I ( odd dm.'Mew- II I) Ml II N K M'l) i' I l.uk I licllcultl nuii). I'ni. i.ili I'.iiv ( S England towns I "We the idea because it's such a wonderful idea to honor longtime residents." co-opt- ed Ml IN I'ic'. AvMn-iiiin- nli t 1 Vt , mr No 1 'I Iuiown why Kdwin Ginzicr. publisher nl the tost on Post, decided in l!l(t!l In give-gold headed ebony calie to lie oldest man in hundreds of New Knglnnd (owns. Almost a century later, Grazier's newspaper is long I I I ai ry Collin, Bnull'tiid historical society defunct and many ol the original canes are lost I'.ul in n ol' (owns in JiTi Massachusetts, Maine, New lampshire and Vermont (Irn.ier'H mission lives on: the awarding nl' the cane to each town's nldest resident. "It. was a great hnnnr," William Curtis Pierce of llaldsvin, Maine, said ol' the and the recngnil ion cane he' received when he I , tinned community - but I would think for a neighborhood in the eldany community ers are a living link to the past," he said. "They have so much to share;, their m Mi longevity give you perspective." Flanders, who was born in White Uiver' Junction, lives with her dog in the house she shared for decades with her husband in Fairlee village. Friends and neighbors step in when she needs help. "I feel just the same," said Flanders, who worked for many decades as an elementary school teacher and towp '.official. "1 don't feel sick, and I don't take med-- ' ication or anything." Her friends see the pass- ing of the cane as a way of honoring the towrt's oldest residents for their years of community service. in March. Pierce, former New York City lawyer, had spent summers il l it. in Baldw in since "There's something very iiice about the lacl that I'm recognized as part ol the a I community," 1 tradition he Boston Pout canes began when Grnzicr sent canes to selectmen in 4)1 towns in Maine. New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Grnzi-e- r instructed them to award the canes to (he oldest man in town, to he lined .by him as long as l,ie liven - or moves .out of town. At li death, the cane wan to he handed down to t he next oldest cit i.eit of the The- i id' l- - it.: v - " VlllfV l'l t Keeper of the cane: Hnol Flnndors, 95, the oldest resident ol rairlee, value waH priceleHH. The hoard of Helectmen were to he the InmtecH of the cane and keep it idwayH in the hands of the oldeHt ., citizen. Vermont, ('onnecticut and Khode Island were excluded from (Jrozier'H good will, although nohotly can explain why. But Vermont has since started its ' own tradition. (irozier died in 1024, and the Boston Post went out of husiness in 1957. But hy then, the practice of awarding canes had tuken hold in New Kngland, and it continued, 'over the years taking on a life of its own, Many canes got lost m (own. The caneH were all made hy J.F. Fradley and Co., a New York- manufacturer, from ehony shipped in lengths from the Congo. They were cut to cane lengths, seasoned for six months, lurried on lathes to the right thickness, coated and polished, They, had a gold head 2 inches long, decorated hy hand, 'and a ferrulcd tip. Although no one today can pinpoint their financial worth, their died. Rewhen latives who were cleaning cane-holder- s out the house alien didn't know'. of the cane's sign i 11- cance, and either gave it away or threw it. away, said David (it'iffin, head of the Maynard, Mass., historical society. , Maynard's cane disappeared in 192.r). In 1981. it surfaced in a closet. Maynard now gives the oldest male or fenvale person a certiUcate and keeps the cane in its town hall. "We want to have cont rol of iCflriirm said. "We lost it for about (JO years." Other canes, too, disappeared over the years as the holders died. The.Vas-salborcane Maine, turned up in the 1980s in the hands of an antique dealer in California who had found it at a yard hiiIc, said Gary Brown, the town manager, Today,. Vassalhoro keeps Vt;-- , shows off a cane at her the cane in its town offices, and doesn't award it to any- I I M I Ihc AvuiiiU'(l I'n-- homo on May 2. on its own. Boston Post cane when (irozier was handing them out. Instead, a Kairlce resident learned about the going on in nearby Orford, N.H.. and decided to start something similar in his own town, said Hester Gardner, the curator of the town's historical societ- "We the idea because it's such a wonderful idea to honor longtime residents," said Larry Coffin, president of the Bradford historical society, He for potential advertises cane holders in the newspaper and relies on word of mouth when it's time In pass on the cane. Bradford's current Maris 9f year-olgaret Pratt, who still lives on the farm where she was y- born. That cane has since disHazel appeared; Flanders was awarded a different cane instead at this year's Fairlee town meeting. But she .was thrilled all the same. Bradford, too, started the tradition of the cam: "1 was quite honored to have it given to me," Pratt said. "I want to keep it for a little while." Coffin, a high school social studies teacher, said the cane helps bring the one. "Last, time we did that, we lost it," Brown said. Kairlee didn't even get a tra-ditio- n cane-hold- the people I have who have had the cane, that has certainly been true," said Jean Ward, a longtime friend of Flanders. Awarding the cune is also a way oi notion ng me town's past, said Sue McKinley, a member of the Milton, N.H., historical society. Historians in Milton are hard at work trying to find that town's cane, which recently disappeared. "It's very important within small towns to continue things like the cane that has a lot of meaning to it," said McKinley. "We like what came before us. We appreciate and respect the past." , "AH known er d community together, "Fispccially for' a small UJLMJJL.M.JIIIJ.M The Next Stage" ' ' , ' .' , , s 3 - f"""" , ' i' . ) i ' ' ' ' f y'r l.i. 'I ' ' 1 OUR LOANS LET YOU MAKE THE DECISIONS. 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