Vol. 3, No. 10
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March 15, 2006
Nevada's Online State News Journal
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Feature Story:
March 17: Where Will You Be -- What Will You Be Doing
Everyone Is Irish On St. Patty's Day And Nevada Does Know How To Party
by Johnny Gunn
It may have started as part of a church festival, but the party has spread from the land of Celtic tribes to the four corners of the known world. March 17 is party time and there are many ways to party hearty in the Silver State, from eating mountain oysters in Virginia City to marching down the green line in Henderson, everyone is Irish that day.
Many who are Irish also claim of course the banner of Celtic Pride, and the Celts know as much about a good party as anyone in the world. Celtic tribes extended from the northern most areas of what is today Scotland, all of today's Ireland, through Wales and Cornwall in today's Britain, across the channel to Brittany in France, and into Galicia in today's Spain and Portugal. It's believed that some 3,000 to 4,000 years ago the Celts ruled the non-Roman European areas.
Nevada is filled with Irish, Cornish, and Welsh immigrants from the days of mining and railroading, and of course like immigrants around the world, they brought their traditions and cuisine with them. In the mines there were none better than the Cornish, according to the Cornish. That's where many underground traditions originated and live today.
If a mine boss hired a Cornish miner, he would be told, "I'm the best there is, mate, but if you think I'm good, just wait 'till you meet me cousin Jack." Thus the tradition of Cornish miners being known as Cousin Jacks. In Cornwall, one of the best things to eat are called pasties. That is pronounced as the name Patti would be and has nothing to do with dancing on a stage in dark and dingy men's clubs.
A pastie is a meat and potato filled pastry that Cornish miners brought with them for mid-shift meals, and we have another tradition. Even today many old tramp miners call their lunch pails pie pans. The traditional Cornish pie pan was a double decker with the lower half filled with hot tea and the upper half filled with a fresh pastie. Lunch stayed hot or at least warm, and there was hot tea to wash things down.
There have been many pastie parties in Virginia City in somewhat recent times, including one that took place in 1971 at the Miner's Union Hall. Hosted by Katy Kick, she of Cornwall originally and Ellie Trengalli, she of a San Francisco family, but owner/operator of the now defunct Virginia City Vintners. The two wonderfully gregarious ladies drafted many of the town's ladies to help, took over the kitchens at the Delta Saloon, and spent days preparing some of the most tasty delights ever offered on the Comstock. The party was a huge success.
According to an article written some time ago by Christopher Lean, "It was once said that the Devil would never dare to cross the River Tamar into Cornwall for fear of ending up as a filling in a Cornish Pastie. Just as pizza started out hundreds of years ago as a means of cleaning out the pantry, a pastie can be made of just about anything you have handy, as long as the main ingredient is some kind of meat, and there must be lots of veggies like potatoes, carrots, turnips, onions, well you get the picture. Stick to your ribs goodies in a pastry shell.
This St. Patrick's Day, Virginia is host to what is now an annual Mountain Oyster Festival. The festival has been drawing large crowds for 15-years. The party will be held March 18 and 19. A parade is also scheduled for March 19. If you aren't in the know, a mountain oyster is a delicate way of describing an animal's testicles. Breaded and fried, they are delicious. Go to http://www.virginiacity-nv.org for more information. On the weekend, not the oysters.
In Henderson, the town will turn green for three days, March 16-19 and will feature a Sons of Erin St. Patrick's Day celebration including carnival rides, music and Irish dancers, and a huge parade. The Las Vegas Sons of Erin claim the Henderson parade is the fifth largest parade in the nation. Go to http://www.visithernderson.com for all the details.
No self-respecting politician will miss a St. Patrick's celebration so be prepared to see many in many of the celebration areas around the state.
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