The tradition of the Red Lodge St. Patrick's Day adapts to the snow – and a absent friend

Red Lodge – For 40 years, on the morning of St. Patrick's Day, volunteers gathered in the early morning to paint Shamrocks at every intersection and a lively green strip in the center of the city. This year, however, the city awakened a fresh white layer.

For the first time, color rollers and brushes were put aside in the memory of a participant. Instead, Green tapes were tied to door handles, light posts and shop windows – an adaptation to the snow -covered weather on Monday.

That was not the only change in tradition. It was not only the first year in which Theresa Whistler was the main organizer, but Guynema Terry, since 1979 and former music and theater teacher, was absent.

“I don't want people to move here to think:” Oh, we are just a beautiful little western city. “We are much more than that,” said Terry about the Irish immigrants of the city.

At the age of 74, she took part in St. Patrick's Day Ritual for about 15 years.

Her cancer has returned – Stage 4, metastatic and stopped taking them for the first time.

“It is difficult to know that if it were beautiful and sunny, everyone would be out there who paint this street and I am no longer of them,” said Terry.

In view of the change, she keeps her diagnostic light and refers to her chemotherapy sessions as a “raming days”, an allusion to the adventure with a pirate motif that she created around her treatment when she found that her cancer had returned.

Although she couldn't be on the road, Terry remains woven into the fabric of the community. Many of those who now take care of them – doctors, nurses – were once their students.

“All children I taught now take care of me,” said Terry. “When they come in, it's like 'Oh my god, I taught you when you were in kindergarten and now you put an IV in me.'”

Snow may have changed the tradition this year, but the essence of St. Patrick's Day remains in Red Lodge, as does the Thespian Guynema Terry.