Thursday, 15th December 2005 (4055 views)

A gold-handled 'Boston Post' cane has been passed down to Hamilton's oldest female resident, ensuring the town's rich tradition is upheld, the Hamilton Wenham Chronicle reports.

Katherine Murphy was presented with the cane after Elise Bilodeau, the town's previous matriarch, passed away last month, aged 105.

The Boston Post fashioned hundreds of such canes from African ebony in the early 20th century and handed them to the oldest male residents in towns across Massachusetts and New England.

The canes feature an opulent 14-carat gold handle and were conceived as a publicity stunt to boost the newspaper's circulation.

Though the Post folded in 1950s and most of the canes have since been lost or discarded, Hamilton is among the towns to have since resurrected the noble tradition.

The town opted to purchase two further gold-handled canes a few years back.

Reflecting the changing times, a cane is now presented to both the town's oldest woman and oldest man.

Canes adorned with handles made from gold and other precious metals and jewels were viewed as a symbol of wealth and status in the 17th, 18th and 19th century.

 

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