“It was so windy two years ago, it blew you backwards if you carried a flag. It’s beautiful today,” said New Ulm Area Veterans Color Guard member Jerry Waibel of Searles.

New Ulm Color Guard member Francis Rieger agreed.

“You took two steps forward and one backward a couple years ago,” said Rieger. He served with the U.S. Navy Sea Bees from 1969 to 1972, touring Vietnam, Diego Garcia and Puerto Rico.

Eileen Marie Donnelly of Minneapolis, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade queen in 1968, traveled to New Ulm to participate in the parade with other family members.

Dozen of New Ulm residents celebrated their Irish heritage by walking in Monday’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. Among the parade participants is former Journal Editor Kevin Sweeney, who waves to the crowd.

She talked about what the St. Patrick’s Day Parade was like decades ago.

“It was rowdy with a scant crowd at the start, but the Irish always wound up having more fun than many others,” said Donnelly, a novelist and creative leader.

She passed out bags of potato chips to parade attendees.

Mary Jane Glawe of New Ulm wore a large cloverleaf costume and handed out bars of Irish Spring soap to parade-goers.

“The parade appears to be getting longer. It was nearly a half-hour long this year. I don’t remember it ever being this nice outside for the parade. It was really great to have such beautiful weather today,” she said.

Four-year-old Kaylee Fluegge awaits for the St. Patrick’s parade dressed as an Irish unicorn. Her father Cody Fluegge confirmed the family is part Irish. His great grandparents (Kaylee’s great-great grandparents) were originally from Dublin.