Local Irish gear up for St. Patrick's Day

By KEVIN SWEENEY

Journal Editor

NEW ULM -- Bill O'Connor and Pat Kneefe aren't insulted that no one asked them to manage the New Ulm Oktoberfest celebration. Let Heritagefest take care of it, they say. They're too busy putting on New Ulm's largest celebration of the year, the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade.

The 35th Annual New Ulm St. Patrick's Day Parade will take place at 5 p.m. Saturday, March 17. Kneefe and O'Connor are planning for the usual overflow crowds that will jam city streets and back up traffic on Highway 14 past the Minnesota Valley Lutheran turnoff.

"There will be overflow parking at Alliance Bank and at Vogel Arena," said O'Connor, his tongue planted firmly in cheek. There won't be any shuttle buses to bring parade viewers to Minnesota Street, but "Target will spot 50 bicycles at Vogel Arena for people to ride down," said O'Connor. "They can leave the bikes at Retzlaff's."

The parade will start, as usual, at 3rd South and Minnesota Street, and proceed the wrong way up Minnesota Street to the Glockenspiel.

This year's parade promises to be special. Mayor Arnold Koelpin will be leading it, along with this year's St. Patrick's Day Queen, Margaret Tisch.

O'Connor said Alliance Bank has agreed to sponsor the Vulcans from the St. Paul Winter Carnival, and the parade is bringing in a marching band from Boston.

As usual, O'Connor and Kneefe have set up a long list of events that will stimulate the intellect as well as entertain. Gov. Jesse Ventura and Sen. Paul Wellstone are scheduled to debate education funding at 1:30 p.m. Sen. Hillary Clinton will be speaking at the Lind House at 2:30, giving tips on decorating your home at taxpayer expense.

The St. Patrick's Day Spelling Bee will be held at the Junior High at 3 p.m. "We will be using very simple words, so the Germans will have a chance to spell at least one right," said O'Connor.

For the athletic, a bowling ball juggling contest will be held at Concordia Lanes at 9 a.m., the annual rope pushing contest will be held at 11 a.m. at the Marktplatz Mall, and an All-Nation's basketball game will be held at the National Guard Armory at 3 p.m.

The Irish have special reason to celebrate this year, said o'Connor, with the upcoming retirement of City Manager Dick Salvati.

"He has been one hell of a detriment to the parade over the years," said O'Connor. "This year he's threatening to withhold the permit for the parade, which we still don't have."

Salvati gave no special reason for withholding the permit, said O'Connor. "I think he's been here so long he's adapted to the German mentality. He's negative about everything."

The Irish will be adding some awards to recognize special achievement in the city in the past year. The city engineering department will get an award for their work repairing the collapsed hillside at the new city baseball park.

The Done Nothing Award will be going to Leo Berg, who is retiring from the position of Heritagefest Manager, turning the reins over to Kathleen Backer.

Backer's husband, Cal, will be receiving special recognition this year as New Ulm's Oldest Living German Teenager.

Following the parade, the Irish and their friends will be gathering at the Kaiserhoff for refreshments and entertainment. As usual, O'Connor's wife, Mary, will be arm wrestling all comers until midnight, when she will do her traditional Irish jig on the bar. "I would like to emphasize that she will be fully clothed," said O'Connor. "Some people got the wrong idea last year."

The Irish will be presenting another petition to the New Ulm city government calling for an end to spending any city money on "that heathen statue," Hermann the Cheruscan, said O'Connor.

There is hope for city support of the proposed statue of St. Patrick, said O'Connor. "One little-known item included in the city's half-cent sales tax proposal is an allocation of $50,000 for the statue of St. Patrick," said O'Connor. "We'd like to thank Council President Dan Beranek, who was instrumental in getting that included," said O'Connor. "He's always been such a fan of the Irish."

O'Connor wants to remind everyone that St. Patrick's Day is first and foremost a religious holiday, and he recommends that anyone planning to celebrate should first attend the church of their choice.