Prior to widespread literacy, town criers were the means of communication with the people of the town since many people could not read or write. Proclamations, local bylaws, market days, adverts, were all proclaimed by a bellman or crier.

In ancient Rome, criers typically proclaimed public business during the market days that formed a kind of week-end every eight days.  In Goslar, Germany, a crier was employed to remind the local populace not to dump sewage in the river the day before water was drawn for brewing beer.

The closest Holliston may have had to a town crier may have been the use of constables to post notices in town of the Annual Town Meeting.

With the town’s 300^th anniversary in 2024—only a few short years away—and with a historical perspective in mind, local resident and co-owner of the Holliston Reporter Chris Cain has volunteered his services to play the part of Holliston’s Town Crier for the Farmers’ Market at Blair Square.

The market’s opening day is Sunday June 20, from 9 am to 1 pm. Who better to vocally deliver the town’s news and gossip but the man who publishes it?

Chris and Yvette Cain, who share the publication responsibilities of the Reporter, moved to town 5 years ago from Connecticut to be closer to their grandkids. Cain took quickly to the town, joining the Rail Trail Committee as an associate. “I find the town welcoming. I know more people here than I knew in Cheshire, CT.”

Cain is now a retired Commandant of the CT Governor’s Foot Guard, formed in 1771. While he is unlikely to forewarn residents at the farmers’ market about the hazards of fouling the downtown Winthrop Canal with waste, he undoubtedly will have the latest scoop on what’s hot in town.