Get set, Pittston. You are less than three weeks away from downtown’s first event of the year – the St. Patrick’s Parade to be held at noon on Saturday, March 3.

I checked in with Sarah Donahue, Pittston’s special events coordinator and the city’s best-known cheerleader, on the upcoming parade. When you talk to her, you can’t help but get excited for whatever she’s promoting.

Sarah can’t wait for this year’s event where you can expect some of the same parade staples, along with new items to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the parade.

Festivities begin a week before with painting of the green line on Main Street, starting at 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23. Mayo Striping workers dress up in Irish clothing to do the job, so that’s a lot of fun to see.

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Coming back this year will be the Pre-Parade Pub Crawl where you don’t have to crawl to participate. That event begins at 5 p.m. Feb. 24 at the Pittston Knights of Columbus, continuing on to the Tomato Bar (6:15 p.m.), followed by the Red Mill (7:30 p.m.) and concluding at Brews Brothers (8:45 p.m.) Come to think of it, after four plus hours, you may be crawling home!

On parade day, a special Parade Day Mass will be celebrated at 9 a.m. at St. John the Evangelist Church, followed by the Third Annual Leprechaun Loop race that starts with registration at 9:30 a.m. at the YMCA with the race beginning at 11 a.m. The 1-mile race begins and ends at the corner of William and Main Streets, running from Main Street around to Kennedy Blvd. and back to Main Street.

The Oscar Meyer Wienermobile will back for its second appearance to the parade and walking alongside it will be representatives from Pittston Ketchup Co. All they need is a jar of French’s mustard and buns from Stroehmann’s to make the set complete.

New this year will be the addition of the Little Miss and Little Mister Leprechaun Contest to be held at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24 at the Pittston Memorial Library The contest is based off the Little Miss and Mister Tomato Contest and will be hosted by Sarah Donahue herself.

The parade will be graced with the Pipes and Drums of the Emerald Society from the New York City Police Dept. Sarah is pretty excited about this particular entry, getting word this past January that it is coming.

Sarah wanted me to remind anyone interested in being in the parade that the deadline is Thursday, Feb. 15. If you are interested in entering, go to www.pittstonstpatricksparade.org and follow the link to registration to fill out the form for remittance. Also at the site, you’ll find any information you need regarding the event. The event also has a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pittstonstpatsparade/.

All that’s needed now is some warmer weather than we’ve had in the past to help bring the crowds to downtown.

You know spring is around the corner when the Pittston St. Patrick’s Parade nears.

I miss this guy

“And that’s the way it is…” That was the late news anchor Walter Cronkite’s famous signature sign-off from the evening news on CBS for many years.

When he said those words, you knew he meant it and there was no mistaking his words were final.

Today when you watch national news, you think you are watching something definitive… that’s the way it is. With the term “fake news” being tossed around so freely, it puts news agencies in a bad light. What or whom are you to believe?

Cronkite was known as “the most trusted man in America” when he was king of the airwaves. I didn’t think I missed hearing his voice until I watched the movie, “The Post,” where he made several archival appearances based on actual events of the early 1970s.

Listening to his cadence as he delivered the news reminded me of how professional he was. The depth of his voice was so assuring; it was like listening to your grandfather tell a story.

Cronkite was there for the Kennedy assassination, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Apollo 11 moon landing and so many more historical events.

Hearing his voice made me feel like I was 12 years old again. It’s hard to remember who the other major news anchors were when I was growing up because everyone tuned into CBS to watch Cronkite.

He seemed the eminent authority on every subject, no matter what he was reporting. You rarely saw emotion from Cronkite except on two occasions — the day he announced President Kennedy was killed and the joy he exhibited when reporting Apollo 11 had landed on the moon followed by Neil Armstrong setting foot on the lunar surface.

He was one of a kind. We need another Walter Cronkite to pull this country together again. We need someone we consider trustworthy who can deliver the news of the day and we can believe what they are saying.

Cronkite was also known as a pipe smoker and, for some reason, that seemed to make him more identifiable, adding to his trustworthiness.

When I studied journalism in college, I don’t recall taking a class on public deceptiveness or lying to the public. We were taught to be neutral, unbiased and report the facts.

After all, that’s the way it was… and is.

Quote of the week

“There are some people who leave impressions not so lasting as the imprint of an oar upon the water.” – Kate Chopin, American writer, poet

Thought of the week

“Music washes away the soul of the dust of everyday life.” – Berthold Auerbach, German novelist

Bumper sticker

“No great man is ever born too soon or too late.” – George Norman Douglas, Finnish composer

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My Corner,

Your Corner

Tony Callaio

Reach the Sunday Dispatch newsroom at 570-655-1418 or by email at sd@psdispatch.com.