By Lori Ehde
There will be a St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Luverne after all this year.
When First Farmer’s and Merchants Bank President Don Cashin retired two years ago, he also stepped down as long-time organizer of the local event.
The Luverne Area Chamber of Commerce put it together last year but announced it would not include the parade on its list of Chamber events this year.
Up until last weekend, it appeared the tradition would die in Luverne, until local Irishwoman (one-quarter anyway) Katie Connell Baustian stepped up to the plate.
Except for her years in college, Baustian said she doesn’t know of a Luverne St. Patty’s Day Parade that she didn’t attend — or participate in for that matter.
In 1985 she was crowned Queen of St. Patrick’s Day, an honor that doesn’t say that much about a person’s Irish heritage. "You just have to be little Irish," Baustian said Monday.
While the details are still coming together, she said parade grand marshals will be Bill and Mary Lou Mulligan, and St. Patrick’s Day Queen will be Tera Boomgaarden.
Junior royalty will be Makayla and Morgan Hohn, and Jacob, Luke and 8-week-old Ben Jarchow. Parents of the children are Craig and Patrice Hohn and Tim and Kayla Jarchow, all of Luverne.
Molly Golla and Cole Irish will be queen and king of the leprechauns.
Baustian said she’d call Mary Jane Brown Good Samaritan Center and Minnesota Veterans Home to see if their residents of Irish heritage could serve as senior royalty in the parade.
As a newcomer to running the show, Baustian found out there’s more to running the parade than lining up entries.
She learned she needed to apply for a parade license and pay a $10 fee at City Hall.
She also learned that in order to paint the giant green shamrock on Main Street, she would have had to request permission at a council meeting, and it was too late to be included on Tuesday’s council agenda.
Other than that, Baustian said the parade will go on as usual, complete with the services of Cashin’s convertible and his official Irish flag.
The parade will start at 4 p.m. Monday, March 17, in the Sears-Furniture House lot on East Main Street.
Those interested in participating in the parade should meet there at 3:30 to get in line. Baustian can be reached at 283-4180 or at pbaustian@dtgnet.com.
