The town of Newcastle presented its Boston Post Cane to 98-year-old Eugene Walsh during a brief ceremony at the Newcastle town office Monday, April 13.
New England towns present the Boston Post Cane to honor their oldest resident. Walsh succeeds Ellis Travis, who received the cane in 2013. Travis is now 101 but has moved to Kennebunk.
Walsh was in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1941-1973, retiring at the rank of captain. He is a veteran of World War II.
Walsh was a commanding officer of several Coast Guard bases and ships after the war. He was also a chief of staff for Coast Guard District 9, which includes the Great Lakes. He moved to Newcastle in 2007.
“Captain Walsh, from one vet to another, I appreciate your service,” Newcastle Board of Selectmen Chairman Brian Foote said as he presented Walsh with the cane.
“I appreciate your thoughts and your kindness in awarding me this very nice award,” Walsh said.
The publisher of the Boston Post, Edwin Grozier, gifted gold-headed ebony canes to hundreds of New England towns in 1909 with instructions to present the cane, with the newspaper’s compliments, to the eldest male resident of the town.
The man could hold and use the cane as long as he lived or until he moved to another town, when the cane would pass to the new eldest male resident. Women became eligible for the cane in 1930.
The Boston Post went out of business in 1957, but the cane tradition continues in many New England towns.