WWW.EMETROTIMES.COM ~ E @EMETROTIMES ~ M @EMETRO_TIMES ~
MARCH 2018
@EMETROTIMES
Read
eMetro Times
online at
emetrotimes.com
A
WAKE
COMMUNITIES
INTERNATIONAL
SHAMROCKS AND SHENANIGANS
ORIGINS, LEGENDS AND A TAVERN
I
magine
yourself
walking
downtown in Ireland, listening
to Irish medleys. The flutes,
the bagpipes, and the fiddles fill the
air with an ambiance of celebration.
The aroma of corned beef and
cabbage, fresh baked soda bread and
scones and bratwurst cooking in the
restaurants fills the streets. The first
St. Patrick’s Day took place on March
17, 1762. The holiday is a celebration
of the work of St. Patrick and takes
place every year on the anniversary
of his death (believed to be on March
17, 461). I was surprised to learn that
St. Patrick is the patron saint and
apostle of Ireland. He was actually
not Irish. He was Roman Britain,
but he was brought to Ireland as a
slave when he was only 16 years old.
When he ran away and escaped his
owners, he wound up at a monastery
and converted to Christianity. He is
ascribed as being the man who brought
Christianity to Ireland because
after he converted, he went back to
Ireland and challenged the Druids at
Tara Hill to see who’s God was real.
After several rounds of challenges,
the God of Christianity proved to be
the real God, so the story says and
the King bowed down to God. St.
Patrick is known for the spreading of
Christianity throughout Ireland. The
real celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day
began when Irish soldiers came over
to the United States to fight in the
English army. These men wanted to
remember the culture of Ireland, and
so they decided to have a parade and
marched through New York City.
Now, you might ask how the
parade in Olde Town Conyers came
about, and the answer to that is few
men who decided they wanted to
have a St. Patrick’s Day parade! Bill
Spivey was at Beasley’s pharmacy
and “Charlie came by the drug store
and said come on Bill, let’s have a
parade.” There’s a video which was
done by Darrell Everidge, of three
prominent men of Conyers, GA, Bill
Spivey, Bill Rodgers and Charles
Walker. The video was done in
2016, which was the last year that all
these wonderful men were all alive
together. They told the story of how
the “fastest growing” parade began.
Charlie is the very well-known
former Mayor of Conyers, Charles
Walker. This took place on St.
Patrick’s Day of 1979 or 1980. They
could never agree on which year this
happened. The next year, Walker and
Spivey told the media they would
be having a parade and Tom Berry
from the newspaper “come runnin’
up the street with a step ladder,” so
he could stand on the step ladder to
see over the crowd. Walker said, “the
crowd didn’t materialize,” because
they didn’t tell anybody else. They
came around the corner and Berry
had a puzzled look on his face while
he stood on that ladder and he said,
“is that it?” It was Charles Walker
and Bill Spivey walking down the
street. The next year, Bill Rodgers
joined in, and they never missed a
parade, except that one year when
they all went to Dublin, Ireland to
celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. They call
the Olde Town Conyers the “fastest
growing” parade because “it used to
double every year,” said Walker. The
St. Patrick’s Day parade in Conyers
may have started with just two men
walking down the street, but it has
undoubtedly grown since those days
into one of the most significant events
of the year.
There is yet another man who
has added his flavor and put effort
into making the St. Patrick’s Day
parade and party thrive in Olde Town
Conyers. Greg Burch is the owner
of Celtic Tavern Restaurant. The
restaurant opened on Memorial Day
of 2001. It was previously owned
by a school teacher named Lynn
Maddox. They had a tiny menu, and
they only served beer and wine. Greg
said, “This is one of the first places
I visited when I moved to Conyers
in 2000.” He hosted the open mic
night at the Celtic, and when the
owners wanted to sell, Greg bought
Continued on page 3...
Where in eMetro?
TELL US WHERE THIS IS!
Enter online at www.eMetroTimes.com
for a chance to win a FREE Oil Change
at Courtesy Ford in Conyers, GA!
Winners announced on
eMetroTimes.com/photocontest
Table of Contents
Arts and Entertainment.....................6
Business and Finance......................4
Deon’s Do’s & Don’ts........................5
Devotional..........................................2
Education & Development ...............12
Family Living.....................................9
Government.......................................11
Health and Wellness..........................14
Pat Cavanaugh Chief Advisor..........9
Pet of the Month................................2
Tap and Cork .....................................7
Country Home With Mountain Feel
404-630-2985
www.deoncannon.com
Deon Cannon
[email protected]
ABR, GRI, SRES,
Broker
All brick ranch, with partially finished
basement, located on 1.39 acres of
beautiful hardwoods. Main level is 2
bedrooms/1 and 1/2 baths, basement
has 3 rooms and a full bath. House
features 2 fireplaces. Out Bldg. with
electricity and two sheds. Very
private setting.
$149,900 Call Deon for details.