With military precision, the Hancocks and Moodys quickly assemble their tents, chairs and food in the first square on the parade route. It’s planned to the minute. This year, with the St. Patrick’s Day Parade stepping off on Friday morning, Susan Hancock and Lynn and Donna Moody, along with their families and friends, are already prepared. Their watch on Calhoun Square starts on Wednesday afternoon. They’ll arrive in trucks, park, and wait the necessary hours until 6 a.m. Friday morning.

Similar strategies dot the route. At squares. At corners. Along streets. Abercorn. Broughton. Bay. Names once familiar to Gen. James E. Oglethorpe. These places are prized. The Hancocks and Moodys are veterans at this. They know the drill. Plus, they leave nothing to chance. Beyond the changing shifts, they also transport a Portajohn with a keypad.

Susan, Lynn and Donna have staked out Calhoun Square for about 30 years. 

“This is the beginning of our spring and summer,” said Susan. They all agree it’s a “family favorite atmosphere.” Once “the whistle blows,” and they’re allowed in, a crew of eight takes “less than 10 minutes” to tape out their plot, put up three tents, arrange several tables, place some 50 to 75 chairs and stock the coolers. No surprises here. Beyond all that, the city strictly regulates its guidelines. No grills, barriers or bartenders. 

Their station is at the corner of Gordon and Abercorn streets. A prime spot on the first square in the parade. Some years ago, the route changed, shifting to the left side of the square. So it’s a short walk to breakfast. Wesley Monumental United Methodist Church has it all prepared. 

From 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., they serve pancakes, bacon and green grits. Soon, they’ll be back in the square, chatting and waiting to hear the police motorcycles moving up Abercorn at the parade’s 9 a.m. start. 

Usually, a crowd of 50 or so is gathered. Friends walk through, and stop by, Susan said. “Often, we don’t see them except for the parade conversations.” At the tables, the food is ready. It’s an assortment of tailgate food. No crockpots, Donna added. They just want to pick something up, like sandwiches. For Susan, there is one traditional favorite: “A pimento cheese sandwich and a Bloody Mary.”

The conversations range from families, friends and children, to schools, to golf, to St. Patrick’s parades when it was cold, to the rainy years of 2003 and 2014. 

Politicians and famous people often appeared. President Harry S. Truman in 1962; Jimmy Carter, soon to be Georgia governor and later president, in 1970 and 1978; Senators Barry Goldwater and Mack Mattingly in 1986; and Vice President Mike Pence in 2018. The Moodys though, cherish a different year, 2007. 

It was planned. It was spontaneous. It was marvelous. Weeks before the parade, their son Adam contacted a local country music radio station and asked if he could place a large sign on their float as it neared the square. It was just a few words. “Ashley will you marry me?” As the float turned the corner, she saw the sign. Adam kneeled, and asked the question. She said yes. “Everyone in the square, and close to the area, stopped and cheered for them,” Lynn and Donna said. “It was an exciting moment for all of us.”

For Lynn, he especially enjoys the military spirit exhibited by the parade. That tradition runs deep. The first parade, actually a procession, occurred on March 17, 1824. It was sponsored by the Hibernian Society. In 1842, the Irish Jasper Greens, a Savannah volunteer militia company, formed for the parade, along with the crewmen of the USS Falmouth, a sloop of war, which had docked at Tybee Island. Many other units marched over the years. On March 16, 1946, the city cheered as hundreds of soldiers, sailors and Marines stepped off for that St. Patrick’s Parade. The USS Solomons, an aircraft carrier, docked at the Gordon Wharf. 

In 1991, the city rode an emotional wave of patriotism and pride as the 24th Infantry Division returned from its campaign in the Persian Gulf War. Armored vehicles passed by, and camouflage-clad soldiers manned a float with a “Point of the Spear” ribbon. 

Signs displayed “Welcome Home” with a yellow ribbon. A few years later, the 3rd Infantry Division, the “Rock of the Marne,” was honored as well. It participated in campaigns in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan. 

In addition to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in downtown Savannah, the Hancocks and Moodys enjoy the Tybee Island Heritage Parade, which is a less structured procession, and their set up is much easier as the Moodys live on the parade route. 

A few days later, at the Savannah parade, hundreds of people will wander through the square where those families will gather again.

People stop, chat and maybe pick up a cookie or two. It’s all very casual and laid back. But eventually it comes to an end. That same military organization is displayed again, just in reverse. “We’ve learned from our mistakes,” said Donna. “Our system has developed and grown.” Soon, it’s all packed. 

Next year, a big date. In 2024, it will be the 200th anniversary of the parade. 

Sources: “Savannah: St. Patrick’s Day Through the Years,” published by the Savannah Morning News. wesleymonumental.org. Wikipedia articles on the 24th Infantry Division and 3rd Infantry Division. savannahga.gov. 

This article appears in Mar 1-31, 2023.