Despite Winchester having a fairly sizable proportion of Irish settlers, Saint Patrick's Day has generally been a low-key affair for the town. Before Celtic Fest became an annual downtown event, organized St. Patrick's Day celebrations were more informal affairs. The earliest mention I was able to find (so far) even mentioning the day in a local publication was in the Winchester Republican , March 29, 1834: At the celebration of St. Patrick’s day, in N. York, by the society of the “ Friendly Sons of St. Patrick ,” Mr. Power, the comedian, was toasted as "the Irish ambassador." In reply, he delivered a neat and pertinent speech, and offered the following sentiment, which was warmly applauded: “The Shamrock—to whatever soil transplanted— and may the hearts of Ireland’s sons continue as fresh as its leaf, and the union be as indissoluble.” As you can see, it wasn't even for a local commemoration. That took until the early 1900s, with a (perhaps anticlimactic) mentio...
Forgotten history fished from the river of forgetfulness