Roy Bombard gets Boston Post Cane in Orange

ORANGE — Selectboard member Michael Bates stopped by the home of Roy A. Bombard late last month to present the 102-year-old with a certificate recognizing him as the town’s oldest person.

The piece of paper means Bombard is the recipient of the Boston Post Cane, a tradition the now-defunct Boston Post newspaper started as a publicity promotion in 1909. Owner Edwin Grozier gifted ebony canes topped with gold knobs to 700 New England towns to be given to their most senior resident. Orange’s cane has a permanent home inside Orange Town Hall.

“It was an honor to meet Roy,” Bates wrote in a Facebook post. “These are the kind of days that make me proud to be a selectman. Memories like this are what make life rich.”

Bombard, who was born on March 3, 1923, sat down with the Recorder on Monday and shared parts of his 102-year story. He was born in Athol and graduated from high school there in 1941. He served in the U.S. Army as an aircraft mechanic during World War II and the Korean War, being stationed at Westover Air Reserve Base for one year for the latter.

“We just had one plane to take care of,” he said. “We had just four guys there.”

In civilian life, Bombard worked as a clerk at Union Twist Drill Company in Athol for 38 years.

“I liked it, because I was moving around and I knew a lot of the guys in the shop,” he recalled.

Bombard mentioned he lived in the same house in Athol for about 80 years before moving to Orange.

“He roamed the neighborhood when he was a little fella,” said his 69-year-old daughter, Rita. Bombard’s wife of 55 years and two sons have died and he now shares a house with Rita on Stone Valley Road.

Bombard was an avid golfer for decades and recorded three holes-in-one at Ellinwood Country Club in Athol.

“I’ve been a very lucky guy all my life,” he said.

“He has a bright personality and a great smile that puts you at ease,” Bates wrote on Facebook. “We should all be so lucky to have a good long life like Roy and still smile at 102!”