Volpe, Powers, Saltonstall Lead Parade Commemorating Demise of Irish Snakes

More than 250,000 Irishmen, real or imagined, lined the streets of South Boston yesterday for the annual St. Patrick's Day parade. The march also marked Evacuation Day in memory of the British withdrawal from Boston on March 17, 1776.

At top, a group of high school girls near Andrews Square wait for the start of the parade. Middle, Governor John A. Volpe (left) and Senate President John E. Powers--both loyal sons of Erin--wave to the crowd. U.S. Senator Leverett Saltonstall and other dignitaries also rode in the parade.

At bottom, a woman chilled by the 20-degree weather watches the procession, while above her, children clamber for a better view.

Meanwhile, at Harvard, the typical reaction to St. Patrick's Day was, "Yeah, now that you mention it, I guess it is." MTA employees celebrated the glories of the day with a gathering at Cronin's.