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Mount Holly Flashback

Little parade-goer

Here's one very happy little Mount Holly parade-goer.

We’ve covered many a Mount Holly St. Patrick’s Day Parade … enough to know that they usually have the luck of the Irish when it comes to weather. Will they have that luck this weekend? Maybe not. But a little rain has never been known to dampen the spirits of parade-goers in Burlington County.

This year’s parade is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. in downtown Mount Holly. In the meatime, here’s a look back at several years’ worth of Mount Holly parade pictures. Strap on your shamrock deely-bobbers and march along.

March 3, 2011 by
News

First Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day Festival Comes to Mount Holly

In a weekend filled with Delaware Valley Celtic festivals, New Jersey is not about to be left out.

On Saturday, Garden State Irish can head to the first-ever Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day Festival in Mount Holly, a fun-raiser to support the Burlington County St. Patrick’s Day Parade. And don’t worry about rain … it’s under a tent.

The event is sponsored by the parade committe and Mount Holly’s High Street Grille.

There will be plenty to see and do, according to organizer Jim Logue.

“We’ll have the Birmingham Six, The Shantys, Jamison and Paul Kennedy, along with the Lia Fail Pipes and Drums,” says Logue. “We’re going to have several tables with displays of Irish heritage and cultural groups, the Ancient Order of Hibernians Project Children, and the parade. There’ll also be vendors, and Irish dancers will perform at various times during the day. Food will be available, along with beer and soft drinks. And since it’s enclosed, it’ll be rain or shine.”

The Saturday, September 12, event starts at noon and goes to whenever. It will be held in the municipal parking lot behind the High Street Grille, along High Street. The cost is $10. All proceeds benefit the parade.

And this year, the parade, which costs about $20,000 to produce, needs a bit more of the ready. “This coming year,” says Logue, “we have the same problem the Philadelphia parade ran into last year—we have to pay for police coverage.”

So if you want to celebrate your Irishness on the Jersey side of the Delaware and help out a great cause at the same time, check out Mount Holly.

September 10, 2009 by
News

Luck of the Irish Shines Down on Mount Holly

This young lady evidently received the shamrock memo.

This young lady evidently received the shamrock memo.

Hard to believe it was the same place. In Mount Holly on Saturday, St. Patrick’s Day parade-goers were happily waltzing up and down High Street in shorts and T-shirts—with the salt and cinders from the preceding Monday’s big snowstorm still fresh on the road.

Talk about the luck of the Irish.

Here and there, patches up snow persisted in some of the shadier places, but otherwise it was officially spring in Mount Holly. It might have been the best day they’ve ever had—a perfect day for taking in the pipers, Irish dancers and paddy rock bands on floats as they made their way down through the center of town.

It might also have been the best crowd we’ve seen in the five years of the parade, too, and they were decked out in their finest St. Patrick’s Day regalia—but you can see for yourself. We took lots of pictures.

March 10, 2009 by
News, People

Grand Marshal Chosen for Mt. Holly Parade

By Bill Donahue

John “Jack” McKee, a resident of the Port Richmond Section of Philadelphia, has been chosen as the grand marshal of the 2008 Mt. Holly St Patrick’s Day Parade. The parade, in its fourth year, is quickly becoming one of the premier Irish events in the Delaware Valley. Jack is excited to be leading the parade down High Street this year as the parade’s grand marshal.

Jack was born and raised in Philadelphia and he grew up in a very supportive Irish household. Jack has always been involved in Irish organizations for as long as he can recall. In fact, I truly believe the first words he spoke were the lyrics to “Boys of the Old Brigade.” Jack has been a very influential and driving figure within the tri-state Irish community for years.

Jack is following in the footstep of some great individuals who have preceded him as grand marshal, including “Irish” Billy Briggs and Ed Kelly, one of the founders of the Philadelphia Saint Patrick’s Observance Association.

Jack is a graduate of North Catholic and is married to his lovely wife Carina and has two sons, Brendan and Erik, along with two daughters, Victoria and Nicole. Jack is a longtime employee of the Philadelphia Gas Works.

He was the vice president of the Irish American String Band in 2007 and led the string band up the street in the 2008 Mummers parade. Jack has also been very influential in the Irish music scene. Jack has been the lead singer of two local Irish bands, Dicey Riley and his current band The Shantys. His amazing ability to retain Irish song lyrics makes for a great fit as a front man. Jack has a great love of Irish music and he enjoys keeping the tradition and history alive. In fact, Jack sees this as his duty.

He also heavily supports AOH endeavors and Project Children. Jack, along with The Shantys, has played numerous charity gigs all over the tri-state area for many noble causes. Jack donates much of his time to assist with these great causes. If someone weere to ask what was Jack’s driving force it would be to help out others in need.

Whether it is playing at a benefit or simply volunteering at the door, he can always be found helping out in one way or another. He is also an active member of AOH div. 61 and was highly involved in the Irish Relief Association founded by his late brother Dennis McKee.

Jack is the guy that everyone seems to know or wants to know, he is the life of the party. His music and energy can fill up the room with laughter and happiness. He is truly one of the leading voices in Irish music in Philadelphia today.

Bill Donahue is a member of the Philadelphia Irish Band The Shantys, as well as a member of AOH Division 61.

January 21, 2008 by
News

A Day for the Children of Immigrants

The first Irishman I ran into at the Mount Holly St. Patrick’s Day parade on Saturday was wearing a kilt, brandishing a blackthorn stick and waving the tricolor as he stood along High Street, watching the Col. D.B. Kelly Pipes and Drums march past.

His name was Steve Soviccki. He’s Irish on his mother’s side, he explained. In fact, he produced a photograph of his final resting place, a plot in County Clare. So I wished him a Happy St. Patrick’s Day, and moved along.

The fact that not everyone who turns out for the Mount Holly Parade is Irish is actually one of the coolest things about it. The Burlington County Seat is a real melting pot. About 22 percent of the township is African American, according to 2000 Census figures. Just 13 percent of the people who live in Mount Holly claim Irish ancestry. And the rest are all over the landscape, demographically speaking, with about 15 percent German, 10 percent Italian, and six percent Puerto Rican in ancestry.

And yet, they’re all out there on this day devoted to a particular group of immigrants—but anyone whose grandparents came from Russia or Albania, or who themselves only recently arrived from India or Haiti, can identify with the experience.

Like St. Patrick’s Day Parades in small towns all over America, this one was peopled by bagpipers, dancers, traditional musicians, and people dressed up like leprechauns. It wasn’t long by Philadelphia standards, but to the folks of Mount Holly who stood out on a cloudy, windy and chilly day in March, it was plenty long enough, and a point of pride.

March 5, 2007 by