VILLAGE OF PAWLING – Dozens of parade marchers lined up for Pawling’s “unofficial St. Patrick’s Day Parade” which is billed as the “shortest parade in America” covering a distance of 223 feet, was held on Saturday in the midst of heavy snow squalls. The event began with a moment of silence for Pawling’s son, the late Dutchess County Sheriff Butch Anderson.
Hundreds of people line both sides of Broad Street in the village, with dozens more packed into O’Connor’s Pub on Broad Street to celebrate the sixth anniversary of a parade that began as a joke among friends. “The parade began when Kevin O’Connell and Jeremiah Hughes were sitting in a pub and as a dare, decided to have a parade,” according to Henry Schaber, owner of the Pawling Family Quick Stop in the village. “This started as a parade of seven guys walking down the street,” said Schaber, the grand marshal for the inaugural march. “All of the businesses in town are busy as a result of the parade – it’s a really good community event.”
Community organizations joined fire departments, elected officials, and area businesses in marching in the snowy parade. Announcing each group or politician that marched by the grandstand was Pawling resident and former elected official Dave Gamache. The emcee’s booming voice, known as the voice of Marist College women’s basketball for years, kept the crowd involved as the snow continued to fall, limiting visibility.
Acting Dutchess County Sheriff Kirk Imperati was joined by many of his deputies including a motorcycle cop, deputies on ATVs, and the members of the County Deputy Sheriff’s PBA Explorers, in the parade that paid tribute to their late leader. “This parade was always a highlight of Butch’s calendar and I am honored to stand here with the men and women of our department to honor ‘Pawling’s son,’ Butch Anderson,” said Imperati.
