I remember my first Deadwood St. Patrick’s Day, sometime back in the mid-1980s. Durty Nelly’s was the center of Deadwood’s Irish universe back then, but the party inevitably spilled down the street to the Old Style (the Saloon 10), the Bodega, the Buffalo Bar, the Stockade, the Ranger Bar, the … well, you get the picture.

Wednesday’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Deadwood was a little less raucous, but a great deal more colorful than it was 25 years ago.

In 1980s, the parade was comprised of Durty Nelly’s Bill Walsh carrying the Irish flag down Main Street with a handful of folks straggling behind. The 2010 St. Patrick’s Day parade was a full-blown parade with bagpipers, drummers, floats and beads. Lots of beads — which looked a lot like the beads being tossed about at last month’s Mardi Gras celebration.

And there were children, families, babies in strollers, dogs on leashes and families sitting on the curb watching the parade. The parade folks threw candy, beads, poker chips and other goodies. It was more like a Fourth of July celebration than the round-robin drinking tournament of 25 years ago. That’s a good thing, especially for me. (Although Saturday’s pre-St. Paddy’s pub crawl captured some of those old traditions.)

Parade marshal Nyla Griffith was impressive riding on the hood of Bill Walsh’s Cadillac convertible. She was supposed to ride in the car, but he couldn’t get the top down. But he had lots of company in the parade — unlike 25 years ago.

Thanks, Bill, for keeping St. Patrick’s Day alive in Deadwood all these years.