County's St. Patrick's Day Parade this Saturday in Newton

By Laurie Gordon
Newton — I love a parade; The tramping of feet, I love every beat I hear of a drum. I love a parade; When I hear a band I just wanna stand And cheer as they come! - Music: Harold Arlen / Lyrics: Ted Koehler
This Saturday, Spring Street will turn into an Irish extravaganza as the 15th Annual Sussex County St. Patrick's Day Parade rolls down Newton's main thoroughfare. The 2018 parade will step off at 11:30 am.
In 2003, John Sullivan of Sullivan’s Gaslight Inn and Dennis Harrington, a local resident who was very involved in his community and loved all things Irish, pondered how great it would be to bring a St. Patrick's Day Parade back to Sussex County.
Harrington came home that evening, mentioned the conversation to the family and his daughters said ” Just DO IT!” And so the light was lit. Harrington and Sullivan started the ball — that is, the floats — rolling.
It was a big project to gather volunteers and others who shared their passion of making the parade a reality. The gentlemen almost called it quits many times, but undaunted, in 2004, It happened, and the first parade of this new parade regime stepped off on a bitterly cold morning. It was in Sparta, and they lined up in Lake Mohawk and then the band started and the parade was off.
The community loved it. A large group of people gathered in the square and clapped and cheered.
“It was as if we were as big as the NYC parade," Harrington said. "We were as proud as we could be. Although small in numbers, we were the Sussex County St.Patrick’s Day Parade.”
Harrington and his wife Mary now make up the parade committee.
The second year, the parade moved to Franklin. There were more participants and a bagpipe band joined the procession. It was year number three that brough the parade to Newton.
“That match fit us like a glove,” Harrington said, “ A town with sidewalks for viewers, parking for all and it is here where we have seen the growth and those marhcers and those viewing the parade. We have been lucky, Luck of the Irish, I am sure, and blessed with weather that allows us to parade on time even with snow at the bitter end, it was not enough to sideline us. We have been very lucky, indeed.”
This is how one of the most anticipated events in Sussex County got its start. Now, people don't seem to mind the temperature: the parade is a true sign that spring is on its way.
The community embraces the parade, and on Saturday, the local Moose Lodge will open at 7 am, and Tri County Bagpipers will regale the crowd. The event is open to the public and there will be food available and a place to cozy up before heading out to Spring Street. The Lodge is located at 214 Swartswood Road.
“The Moose has been serving breakfast to the public for a few year now,” said Moose member Jim Stark. “We are only allowed to have a few public events each year and this is a popular one. We open at 7 am with breakfast sandwiches, drink specials and bag pippers.”
Mary Harrington said, “We are proud to say we have grown in both our ranks as well as the size of parade and the on lookers alike. We started with our Lone Piper, young Robbie Henry who was just starting Pope John HS. Time has passed as our Lone Piper, Robbie is now a US Marine. Proud to say we knew him so long ago and proud of who he has become as a man. We also have nearly 1000 participants in our parade and we do not have any fee to be a marcher, just an application form.”
She added, “We have the great fortune to have had success in our fundraisers, which have allowed us to donate to the Grand Marshals Chosen Charities. Each year we have been able to make a contribution to a non profit organization in Sussex County. We hope to continue bringing the Irish culture, traditions and history to Sussex County. We have a wealth of talent in this area and surrounding counties, many who have shared their voice, dance and musical talents with our Committee. I believe we have only begun to tap into that talent.”
This year's Grand Marshal is Betsy (Reilly) Sutherland. She was born in Newark NJ and ended up meeting her Brooklyn match, Gene Sutherland, on the boardwalk in Lake Mohawk. Until her husband's passing, they formed an unbeatable team for 60 years. Betsy and Gene Sutherland made Sparta their home and brought forth a family of eight children. As they did, they decided they needed to start a business to feed said children and in in 1964 founded Sutherland Packaging which is still a thriving company located in Andover.
Mary Harrington said, “We start planning for the next year's parade the day after the current year's ends.”