On December 6, the New Shoreham Town Council announced Paul Marte, 94, of West Beach Road as the recipient of the Boston Post Cane. The Boston Post Cane is awarded to the oldest resident of Block Island, and has been an island tradition since 1909, outliving its namesake by over sixty years.In 1909, The Boston Post came up with the publicity strategy of distributing a cane to every town in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and two towns in Vermont. The idea was that each town would award the cane to the oldest resident, and send in a brief biography andpicture of the recipient for the newspaper to publish.
The Boston Post folded up its last newspaper years ago, but the tradition of the cane lives on. The cane is made of ebony imported from the Congo, with a gold head decorated by hand. The original gold ferruled tip is missing from the bottom of the cane, but generally speaking it is in good shape and makes a handsome accessory for each of the distinguished Block Islanders who have wielded it.The newest recipient is Mr. Paul Marte, who sat down with The Block Island Times to talk
