Chicago loves to get CHIRISH every March and there’s no better way to celebrate then the annual Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Grant Park.
Plus, don’t miss the dying of the river! The Chicago Journeymen Plumbers, Local 130 turn the Chicago River green for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade celebration. One would ask how this is different from the rest of the year when the river is always a murky shade of green. The difference is both significant and breathtaking because the color green is identical to the greens of Ireland from where it got its name The Emerald Isle. And yes, all the men & women on the boats are ALL Chicago Plumbers!
In 1961 Stephen Bailey, the Business Manager of Chicago Plumbers Local 130 was approached by one of his plumber’s who was wearing some white coveralls, they knew this only because they could see some of the original color. These coveralls had been mostly stained or dyed a perfect shade of green, an Irish green to better describe it. It was when Stephen Bailey asked how the coveralls got this way, that they discovered that the dye used to detect leaks into the river turned green, not just any color green, but the perfect color green. That’s when Mr. Bailey bellowed, call THE MAYOR……we will DYE THE CHICAGO RIVER GREEN!
