A sure sign of Parade Day in Scranton: ‘Irish’ Gene Reed paints the parade route

SCRANTON, Pa. — For decades, “Irish” Gene Reed laid the path for Scranton’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

This year is no different.

The city’s longtime DPW worker donned his tweed flat cap on Monday and painted green lines on downtown city street in preparation for Saturday’s annual parade.

The day begins at 10 a.m. with with mass celebrated at St. Peter’s Cathedral on Wyoming Avenue and and the Brian P. Kelly Memorial footrace through the downtown at 11 a.m.

At 11:45 a.m., the parade steps off at Mulberry and Wyoming Avenue, heads toward Linden Street and then turns left onto Lackawanna Avenue. From there, the procession follows the streets bend into Jefferson Avenue, then turns left onto Biden Street and makes a final right turn onto North Washington Avenue.

The parade will pass the reviewing booth near the corner of North Washington Avenue and Linden Street and come to an end at Vine Street. 

The parade is one of the largest in the country and dates to 1962.