St. Patrick's Day Parade celebrates its 30th anniversary

Intermountain Catholic

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The Most Rev. John C. Wester, bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City waves to the public during the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Salt Lake City March 14. This year's theme was ?From Kerry to Promontory? and was in honor of Colonel Patrick E. Connor, who was a preeminent figure in mining, railroading, and politics. IC photos by Priscilla Cabral

SALT LAKE CITY — "From Kerry to Promontory" was the theme for the 30th annual Saint Patrick’s Day Parade in Salt Lake City March 14. Kerry is a county in Ireland and Promontory Summit is the point in Utah at which the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads met to unite the East and the West in the late 19th century. Irish workers contributed to the development of these railroads with their hard labor.

Nowadays, their descendants continue to unite people through the celebration of their patron saint’s feast. The color green, shamrocks, and leprechauns dominated the Gateway mall and the sound of the pipe bands filled the air while Irish dancers made everyone’s eyes bounce up and down along with their traditional hair-curls.

The grand marshal this year was Doctor John Wilson, a member of the Hibernian Society, which organizes the parade every year.

There were about 145 entries for the parade this year, said Greg Neville, parade co-chairman.

The Knights of Columbus were among the first to march down the parade route, while the Most Rev. John C. Wester, bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, followed them in a carriage.

Catholic Schools and parishes joined the celebration with cheer squads, music bands, and floats.

"I was pleasantly surprised at the number of participants," said Mattie Reed, freshman dean of students at Judge Memorial Catholic High School in Salt Lake City.

Reed said this was the first time she organized the school’s entry for the parade and that the students had a "good and positive spirit."

As much fun as it is to watch the parade, it is better to be part of it, said Julia Rakowski, student at Saint Francis Xavier School in Kearns.

"It’s really exciting to shake people’s hands and to yell at them. It’s fun to see all the little kids," she said.

The parade was also an opportunity to celebrate legislative accomplishments like the fall of the Zion Curtain, a glass barrier meant to protect children from seeing alcoholic drinks that many argued did nothing but complicate the servers’ job.

For others, the parade was a chance to celebrate the memory of those who have died. The Mac’s Band, a group of Judge Memorial graduates in their 50s who have participated in the parade since it started, played one last basketball game for the late Larry H. Miller.

Friends and family of Michael Starks, a Utah State University freshman who died of alcohol poisoning during a fraternity initiation, marched next to a picture of Starks on a coffin to raise awareness on the dangers of hazing.

From Kerry to Promontory, everybody is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day and anything could be a motive for celebration, as long as there is green.