2 Oldest Residents Of Rye Honored With Gold-Tipped Cane

RYE, NH — The two oldest living residents of Rye, both 102 years old, were presented with the Boston Post Cane Wednesday in a traditional ceremony that dates back well over a century.

Not only are Barbara Long and Marion Cronin the same age, they have the exact same birthday: Feb. 7, 1921. You might guess that the pair are twins—they cracked many jokes at the ceremony about how it probably seems that way—but they actually have no family ties.

The ceremony was held at the Webster in Rye, where Long and Cronin both live now. The Boston Post Cane originated in 1909, when The Boston Post distributed around 700 canes throughout New England so that towns could recognize their oldest resident in a ceremony.

The cane is topped with a 14-karat gold head with the inscription, "Presented by the Boston Post to the oldest citizen of (name of town) — To Be Transmitted."

During Wednesday's celebration, the Town of Rye Select Board presented the cane to Cronin and Long in front of staff, peers, and family, who shared stories of their lives.

Webster staff described Long, a mother of three, as fiercely independent and one of a kind.

One of Cronin's children, Dianne Ryan, spoke about how Cronin was born in New York and how she lived in Massachusetts from 1968 up until 2 years ago when she moved to Rye.

She described Cronin—who has three children, seven grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren—as a wonderful mother and a creative and artistic person, even taking fashion and design classes in high school.

And it appears that longevity runs in Cronin's family: her mother was also awarded the Boston Post Cane distinction in Stow, Massachusetts years ago. She lived to be 108 years old.

"This was a wonderful celebration of these two Rye residents, who looked delighted to receive this honor," Town Administrator Matthew Scruton said in the news release.