Boston Post Cane Presented To 103-Year-Old Claire Sharpe

Claire Sharpe was bright-eyed and smiling when the Town Council presented her a replica of the Boston Post Cane at their meeting Monday night. At 103, Sharpe was found to be the oldest resident of the town and so was eligible for the cane. It's a tradition that's just one year older than Sharpe herself. 

In 1909, the Boston Post newspaper sent out gold-headed ebony canes to 700 towns in New England, including East Greenwich, in a massive publicity stunt. The Post requested the cane be presented to the town's oldest male resident and returned to the town upon that person's death (or departure from the town). Eligibility for the cane was opened to women in 1930. 

Over the years, many towns lost their canes. Indeed, for a time East Greenwich's cane went missing, between 1983 and 2009, when Leigh Botello found it quite by accident shortly after she took over as Town Clerk. It had been placed in a closet inside an old poster tube. So, the tradition was reborn. 

Botello had a replica made; the original cane remains in a display box at Town Hall. The cane was presented to Dorothy May on January 10, 2010.

Sharpe, who was accompanied by two of her daughters, was grateful for her opportunity to have the cane. 

"God bless you all and thank you for taking the time to look into this," she said.