LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Fifty years ago, a man who was thinking about running for mayor was urged by his wife to restart the popular St. Patrick's Day Parade in Louisville as part of a campaign promise.
Did the promise help Harvey Sloane get elected to his first term in 1973?
He said he was talking with his wife, Kathy Sloane, about how people what him to run for mayor, and asked if he should do it. She said she would support him on one condition: restart the St. Patrick's Day Parade that was stopped because of World War 1.
"I said well, there's probably a lot of Irish who are Democrats, so I said yeah, I can do that, so that's how it got started," Sloan said.
John O'Dwyer, the parade organizer and president of The Ancient Order of the Hibernians, said one parade in particular sticks out to him.
"Probably the most hard and most memorable parade was the year of the monsoon, the city didn't want us to do it, we did it and we got it down the route safely. That was in 2019," he said.
O'Dwyer said the parade has evolved from a few brothers walking down the block to what it is today.
He mentioned one group that even got a name change.
"Yeah, they're the Elvis O'Presleys, they're a fantastic group, lively and engage the audience down the route, and play a lot of great music," O'Dwyer said.
The parade decided to bring 86-year-old Sloane and his family back for its 50th anniversary, and the former mayor can't wait to see the metro again.
"It's a great honor, and I'm really, when they contacted me about coming I immediately said yes, and my whole family said they wanted to come down, so it's a big event for the Sloane family. And we really appreciate being asked and remembered," Sloane said.
The 50th anniversary of the St. Patrick's Day Parade will be rolling down Baxter Avenue Saturday, March 11.
"It's a big deal to get to 50," O'Dwyer said.
The Ancient Order of the Hibernians uses the parade as a fundraiser from those who pay to be in it. They give some of that money to local charities like Boys and Girls Haven and Home of the Innocents.
WHAS11 will be walking in the parade for the first time on Saturday, March 11.
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