Albion vet, 89, makes canes by hand for local veterans

Photos by Tom Rivers: Frank Babcock holds about a dozen canes he made and gave to Assemblyman Steve Hawley to distribute to local veterans.

ALBION – Frank Babcock was in the Albion Walmart about two months when he saw a man walking with a cane. Babcock, 89, complimented the man, a fellow veteran, on the quality of the cane.

The man said the cane made a big difference for him, and he received it for free from Assemblyman Steve Hawley.

Babcock got to thinking that he could make canes to be given to local veterans. Babcock served in the Army from 1955-’56 and was based at Fort Hancock, N.J. Many know him locally for his long career with NAPA Auto Parts in Albion and Medina.

Babcock has made 24 canes since meeting the man in Walmart. On Saturday he handed off a dozen to Assemblyman Hawley, who met him at the American Legion in Albion. Hawley said he will make sure they get to veterans, perhaps at the NYS Veterans Home in Batavia, the National Cemetery in Pembroke or through the Patriot Trip that Hawley leads each September to monuments in the Washington, D.C. area.

Babcock made the canes from small trees in his son’s woods. The raw materials were cut off from part of the roots with a slight angle. The handles of the canes are the roots from the trees.

Babcock would sand down the small trees and put shellack on them, as well as stickers of American flags.

“Now I have to get some more blanks so I can make some more,” he said on Saturday.

Frank Babcock was joined by friends and family at the American Legion on Saturday. From left include son Steve Babcock, son Jim Babcock, Frank Babcock, Assemblyman Steve Hawley, grandson Jeremy Babcock, and Legion Commander Brad Rouse.