41st McCartyville St. Patrick’s Day festival honors Patrick’s Pub & Grill

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MCCARTYVILLE — The 41st annual McCartyville St. Patrick’s Day festival will be held March 14-16.

Two events leading up to the festival are the Little Miss Shamrock Pageant on March 9 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the McCartyville Sacred Heart Parish Activity Center, located at 9377 State Route 119, Anna, and house decorating judging on March 11.

On March 14 at 7 p.m. there will be a sing-along at Patrick’s Pub & Grill at 13491 State Route 29, Anna.

On March 15 at 5 p.m. a fish fry will be held at the parish with dine-in and carry-out options. At 7 p.m. at Patrick’s there will be a toast to this year’s queen, Alexa Wuebker, and at 7:30 p.m. the parish will hold the crowning of the queen; announce the house decorating contest winners; and give special recognition to grand marshalls, which will be previous and current McCartyville bar owners. At Patrick’s and the parish from 9 p.m. to midnight will be music and fun.

Wuebker is the daughter of Daniel and Treva Wuebker, of McCartyville. She graduated from Anna High School and The Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in science. She is employed by Maxim Healthcare.

March 16 starts with rides to the Irish Jog in the parish parking lot at 10:30 a.m. followed by the Jog at 11 a.m. and the parade in downtown McCartyville at 1:30 p.m. Wannabe Tacos and Mully’s Carryout food trucks will be in town starting that day at noon.

After the parade will be a golf event benefiting Andrea (Householder) Kittel and her ongoing medical bills. According to a Facebook post by Monica Berning, Kittel, a teacher at Hardin Houston Local School, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020. She experienced heart failure and had to stop preventative treatment. Then in 2022, the cancer metastasized to her liver and bones and she is receiving chemotherapy every three weeks. Sign-up and the first hole will be located at the parish followed by eight other holes.

Larry Huecker — who was on the committee that started the festival — shared the history of the festival and traditions.

The Irish settled in the area in the early 1800s to help construct the Miami Erie Canal. The festival this year is honoring one of the first buildings in McCartyville, Patrick’s, which was a home that was converted into a tavern by Eddie Bohman, of Minster, in 1937. Bohman ran the tavern for 40 years, followed by his son, Don, then Norma and Jim Silverthorn (when the bar became Norji’s), then Larry and Karen Noll, then Mike Kuhlman, then Terry and Judy Fogt (when it became Tanker’s, where the St. Patrick’s Day festival was conceived), then Pat and Theresa Schemmel (when it became Patrick’s with some major renovations), then an investment group in New Bremen, then Paul and Ann Barhorst, then Jenny Freisthler, and finally Amy Wendeln who owns it now.

“These small town taverns are so important to the fabric of rural America,” Huecker said. “It is where people come for coffee, breakfast in the morning. Farmers stop to discuss events of the day. Farm issues. Many taverns serve plate lunches at noon. A place to stop after ballgames. They come for birthday parties, engagements, retirement parties. People from one small town stop at other small town taverns to discuss what’s going on in their communities. They are a vital part of rural America.”

Huecker said Dave Poeppelman researched the history of the bar and the town and if anyone has any pictures of early McCartyville, he would love to have them as they will be on display at the festival.

For more information, visit the McCartyville St. Patrick’s Day Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068016172099.

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