As we age our thoughts are saturated with experiences sometimes good, sometimes bad and sometimes sad. We mature and age as gracefully as possible with the desire to live and love for many years into the future. With each year it is our hope that our wisdom grows along with compassion for our fellow mankind. We reflect on the past while we take notice more and more of the sunsets, lazy afternoons and the colorful foliage. Thoughts and observations that we may not have noticed when we were years younger.
It was not too long ago when a person’s life expectancy was significantly less than it is today. People fell victim to many illnesses that we have largely eradicated, there are vaccines and medicines, as well as advice on how to live a long and happy life. For most ailments, there are remedies, and if there are not there is advice on how to live with some conditions.
There were documented occasions over the last two centuries where some people simply lived for a very long time. Notwithstanding our cold winter climate and our very swift and severe climate changes, we saw some really peculiar instances where people were known to survive for more than double the average life expectancy. With many in New Hampshire surviving past the age of 100 years in good health during the 18th and 19th centuries, I am very inquisitive when it comes to a persons documented longevity from so long ago. It is only human nature to ask a person of advanced age today, as in the past centuries, what the secret to a long life might be. Time and time again people have been asked that question and the results are both interesting and at times quite humorous.
In our very own community, as well as across our great state we find records telling us of people that enjoyed very long and enjoyable lives. There is Samuel Welch of Bow, who lived until the age of 113 and passed away in the year 1823. Samuel was born in 1710 and lived a life under British rule as New Hampshire was settled in the very earliest day. While Samuel was middle aged, he witnessed the Revolutionary War and found a life of freedom at a time when our country was young. There are many other examples across New Hampshire too, in the year 1840 there were ten documented cases of people over the age of 100 and in 1850 there were 13 people documented over a century old.
There was William Perkins in New Market that passed away in 1732 at the age of 116 and William Scory of Londonderry that passed in the year 1754 at the age of 110.
It was in the year 1909,that the advanced age of people was observed by Edwin Grozier and he developed a publicity stunt to recognize the oldest people in each town while promoting the newspaper that he owned; the Boston Post. The Boston Post was perhaps the most popular New England wide newspaper in 1909, it was founded in the year 1831. Edwin Grozier and the Boston Post newspaper created the Boston Post Cane, a coveted award to the oldest resident in the New England area. There were 700 gold-tipped black canes manufactured for the oldest residents in New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The canes were manufactured by J.F. Fradley and Company from New York where they used ebony wood from the Congo and topped the cane with a 14-karat gold knob. The plan was to loan the cane when it was presented to the oldest resident in one of the 700 towns and upon the death of the cane holder, the Boston Post Cane must be returned to the town that presented it. There were many canes lost, some found a century later while other canes were never recovered. There were canes stolen and some damaged while others simply slipped away as fast as the passing years.
According to the Boston Post Cane Information Center, there have been 494 of the original 700 canes accounted for over the years. Some towns never received their canes and simply made their own while in recent years towns have implemented their own recognition with plaques and community celebrations. There are communities that still honor the old-time tradition of presenting the Boston Post Cane, but there have been times when the oldest resident did in fact refuse the offer. There was a period where people became superstitious about the cane, fearing the end might be near when a can was presented. With this thought in mind, some people in our New England states simply said “no, thank you,” the town of Unity, Maine, witnessed several people refusing the cane because they did not want people to know their ages.
When we think about our years ahead and seek the secrets of longevity from those with wisdom, we cherish the thoughts. In our little community alone, we find time-honored reasoning for the extra years, with our golden agers sharing their own secrets. People talk about good habits and good genetics while others talk about living life to the fullest and enjoying their bad habits. Some people attribute their long lives to their respective faith while others prefer to credit their attitudes towards life in general. One person said they slept with the window open at night and another stated they do what they want when they want to. Certainly, exercise and good habits have never harmed anyone while a good frame of mind must help to reduce stress.
As I walk the grounds of the beautiful Old North Cemetery on this warm spring day, I stop to read the old gravestones. With every stone, there is a story, mostly one that will forever remain unknown. I like to think of each day as a gift to be lived to the fullest, with all the days leading to a cherished old age. An old age when I can reflect on nothing but the good from the past, warm summer evenings seated in a rocking chair on my porch as my wife and I watch the sunset time and time again.