At 81-years-old Carol Davis has perfected her paper toss. She's had plenty of practice over the last few decades.

What You Need To Know

  • When Carol Davis first started delivering the Staten Island Advance it cost a quarter

  • In the 1990's she would hawk the paper at the Staten Island Ferry terminal

  • She would sell about 1,000 papers a day at the ferry terminal

  • Originally, Davis inherited the paper route from her daughter Kerryann

She's been delivering the Staten Island Advance since 1986, when she took over a route from her daughter, Kerryann.

Back then, she delivered about 150 papers a day.​

"I'd come on Friday's when she collected. Cause she was young to have all that money and then my husband and I started coming because she had so many papers to put together," said Davis.

In 1990, she switched to selling papers outside of the Staten Island Ferry terminal. There she picked up a new skill, hawking.

"I stood with the bundle of papers and we'd yell. 'Advance! Advance! Get your Staten Island Advance!'" said Davis.

Back then, before cell phones and the internet, Davis would sell about 1,000 newspapers a day. She would wear a bright orange hat and shirt so her customers could easily spot her amid the thick rush hour crowds.

"Then we would make cracks about spend a quarter for the water," she said.

She then switched back from hawking to delivering. She has about 30 customers now, along a route of some apartment buildings and houses in Rosebank.

"All the dogs in the neighborhood know me," she said as she reached into her cart and pulled out a bag of dog treats.

However, after a recent fall Davis has decided to retire.

"Come on Carol. You're still young. You got to keep going," said her customer Jim Taylor, knowing his convincing wasn't going to work. 

"She is here bright and early every morning. In the snow, in the rain," added Taylor.

She said she has never missed a day of work.

"Sick or whatever, I still did it. If I was sick I would come home and went to bed after the papers were done."

She said her customers became like family and over the years she remembers delivering her own exciting news along with the headlines.

"When my daughter got married, everybody here in the building knew and when she was in labor I would go around, 'We're in labor! We're in labor!' It was a Sunday morning," Davis said.​

Even though Davis is retiring from delivering papers she says she is not slowing down. She will be dedicating more of her time to volunteering at her senior apartment building.