EIF-B_Where We Come From

WHERE WE COME FROM
Red, green, white
and a fierce dragon
EASTERN IOWA FARMER PHOTO / CONTRIBUTED
Revelers who are 100% Welsh gather for a picture at the 2023 St. David’s Day celebration in Columbus Junction. A parade that ends in a
gathering at the American Legion Hall takes place on a Saturday in early March each year to celebrate Welsh Heritage Month and the life of St.
David, the patron saint of Wales.
Members of farming
community celebrate
Welsh heritage with
St. David’s Day
parade and party each
year, inviting the
public to share in the
festivities honoring
their ancestors
BY NANCY MAYFIELD
EASTERN IOWA FARMER
In late winter, on a Saturday as
close to March 1 as possible,
preparations get under way for
a spirited parade in Columbus
Junction.
“In the morning people get together
to decorate the American Legion Hall,
where the parade ends,” said Margaret
Patterson, who lives on a farm near
Louisa County in southeast Iowa.
Those decorations include lots of red,
green and white and a fierce dragon,
all elements of the flag of Wales.
In the afternoon, a few hundred
people will gather to make the twoblock
march to honor the feast day of
St. David, the patron saint of Wales.
Many will carry placards with their
Welsh ancestor’s family names, such
as Jones, Hughes, Thomas, Owens,
Williams, Reese, Arthur, Peters,
Davis, Griffith, Pugh, Morgan, Evans,
and Edwards, to name a few.
The event is open to everyone, and
it is a way for members of the local
community who are of Welsh descent
to share some of the culture of their
ancestors.
The celebration includes food
prepared by local families of Welsh
descent and includes a stew of meat
58 EASTERN IOWA FARMER | SPRING 2024 eifarmer.com