Although the pandemic has caused the cancelation of Youngstown’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade for the second year and a row, 21 WFMJ is helping the valley celebrate the “wearin’ o’ the green”.

You and your family don’t have to be Irish to join in the fun during a half-hour St. Patrick’s Day Special.

Hosted by Casey Malone, “St Patrick’s Day in the Valley” also features special guest Pete Gabriel, who brought St. Paddy’s Day Parades back to the valley.

Join Casey and Pete as they take us back to the origin of parades in America, growing from Boston and New York with the first parade here in around 1900 and the second one held in 1948.

Historian Joan Lawson joins the program from Youngstown’s iconic St. Patrick’s Church to talk about how famine brought the Irish to Youngstown and how St. Patrick, a British citizen, became Ireland’s patron saint who is celebrated worldwide.

Mahoning Valley Historical Society Director Bill Lawson tells the story of the Daniel Shehy family, the first Irish family in what would become Youngstown. 

Pete shares stories about how the annual parade, which he revived in 1979, came to be, and some of the hurdles that had to be crossed.

While sharing memories of the first event, Pete reminisces about parades over the decades, including the rain-soaked parade that included elephants and the wintery parade where mounds of snow were painted green along a parade route to resemble “the hills of Ireland”.

We also hear about special celebrity appearances, and the community response to the parades in the 1980s, 1990s, before Casey took over running the parades.

This special presentation is sponsored by the Mahoning Valley Historical Society.