Boston Post Cane Recipients

Current Boston Cane Recipient:

Our current recipient is Shirley Trombley. For more than 30 years Shirley has been a resident here in the Town of Sunapee. She made her first trip to this area 91 years ago to celebrate her 7th birthday in 1937. Back then a trip from home in Massachusetts to the lake took half a day and usually one stop for a flat tire. Next month Shirley will be celebrating her 98th birthday. Sunapee and the lake has filled her life with many happy memories of boating and waterskiing, dinners at Woodbine Cottage, and of course enjoying the 4th of July fireworks in Sunapee Harbor. Shirley and her family would like to thank the Town of Sunapee for the honor of presenting her with The Boston Post Cane.

History of the Boston Post Cane

In 1909, the now-defunct Boston Post newspaper designed and distributed walking canes to 700 New England towns. The canes, made of ebony—imported from Africa and crowned with 14-karat gold—were then presented to the oldest living male of those municipalities as a sign of respect.  Since then, for over a century, the canes have been handed down, in varying measures of ceremonial pomp, to the town's oldest resident. Women were added to the list of cane recipients starting in 1930. While the Boston Post newspaper closed its doors in 1957, many New England cities and towns still maintain one of Boston’s oldest newspaper traditions. 

The Town of Sunapee is proud to be one of the municipalities presented with a cane and continuing this tradition.