See you next year. Or maybe we'll have some more stuff to post about. Who knows?

Excessive drinking is no longer the accepted standard, not after a pair of alcohol-related student deaths in 1988 and 1991 connected to the student group that runs the weeklong party.

And the legendary if disgusting "Alice" - a cattle trough filled with stale beer, road kill and other unmentionables into which members of the St. Patrick's student court were unceremoniously thrown - was retired a decade ago.

But while Alice doesn't live here anymore, the tongue-in-cheek celebration of all things Irish has survived its first century as a combination class reunion, bacchanalian celebration and day at the parade with the kids.

"It's a counterpoint (to the rigorous academic environment)," said Lance Haynes, a professor of speech and media studies and the parade board's faculty adviser. "It keeps everything in balance."

MARCH 13, 2008- "We're proud of our work and I hope we win," said Jon McWade, right, a junior at Missouri University of Science and Technology, who paints the cudgel with the help of fellow Sigma Nu fraternity brother Andrew Funkhouser Wednesday afternoon on campus.
(Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Today's St. Louis Post-Dispatch pays tribute to our historic St. Pat's celebration with coverage on page one of their Saturday tabloid version with a full-page spread on Page 5. here's an excerpt:

ROLLA, MO — The freshmen have already beaten — and bitten the heads off of — rubber snakes, clubbing them with homemade wooden shillelaghs.

And earlier this week, a core group of students chosen by secret ballot to portray "St. Pat" and his court officially arrived in town, as they have for a century, wearing their elaborate robes and natural beards grown just for the occasion. As tradition dictated, St. Pat rode into town on the back of a green manure spreader, with pages skipping alongside, as those pulling the contraption chanted, "Cheer! Cheer! The patron saint of engineers!"

"They are pretty much rock stars around town," said Anna Trumbley, a senior, referring to the royal court.

Hotel rooms around Rolla reportedly have been booked for weeks as the Missouri University of Science and Technology, formerly the University of Missouri-Rolla, gets ready today for the parade — the culmination of its two-week-long celebration of St. Patrick's Day that is part Mardi Gras, part Renaissance Festival.

Meanwhile, The Best Ever Blog is busy anticipating tomorrow's parade. It's only a matter of hours now until the street painters will start to do their thing. We might not get a chance to post to this blog much in the midst of this big weekend, but we'll follow up on Monday at the latest, at which time we will have a bunch of re-cap stuff and we'll solicit your stories/comments about the 100th celebration. Even though this blog will ultimately go into hibernation, we'll be back again for the 101st celebration.

P.S. Check out the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tomorrow for a big story on the Best Ever. Also, the Associated Press is coming tomorrow, which means this thing might get some national coverage.

The Governor was on campus today for something entirely unrelated to St. Pat's (though he recently did set his hand and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of the State of Missouri on a proclamation stating that St. Pat's in Rolla is hereby totally awesome). Anyway, we got to Gonzo Games late this afternoon and didn't see much action, although there were some really impressive looking cudgels in the parking lot of the rec center. No more photos today. Maybe tomorrow.

Rolla Mayor Bill Jenks even gave St. Pat a key to the city yesterday. As far as we're concerned, that just seems irresponsible on a bunch of levels.

The birds are singing, love is in the air, and the manure spreader is ready to go. Seriously, it's nice outside. If you're in Rolla, St. Pat and his court will officially arrive at 11:30 a.m. downtown. More Follies will follow. See you there.

P.S. There's a rumor about a special flyover by Blackhawk helicopters at some point this week, probably Saturday. Also, there are a bunch of big cannon salutes planned, starting with blasts to signal the court's arrival today. There's nothing like heavy weaponry during St. Pat's week in Rolla. It makes us proud to be Americans!

P.P.S. Another shout out to B.A. Rupert, who is taking a bunch of photographs (like the one above and the one's below) for us. Basically, if it's a mediocre or bad shot, we took it. If it's really good, the credit goes to Rupert. Of course, the St. Pat's Board also has its own photographer, Dozzle or something like that. His photos are great, too, but this is a separate deal.

The secret to never getting any wrinkles and staying forever young is green paint.

Smoke 'em if you've got 'em.

You mean to tell us he couldn't have painted his feet too?

To quote Shakespeare and Prince Hal (who, as you'll recall, enjoyed hanging out with Falstaff, at least in Part I):

If all the year were playing holidays/ To sport would be as tedious as to work/ But when they seldom come, they wish'd-for come?/ And nothing pleaseth but rare accidents.

Ceremoniously garbed in green and gold and riding in a manure spreader, St. Pat and his court will officially arrive in downtown Rolla Wednesday, March 12. St. Pat’s activities will continue through Saturday. This is the 100th celebration of St. Pat’s in Rolla.

St. Pat, portrayed by Missouri University of Science and Technology student Paul Voss, will arrive with his court at 11:30 a.m. near Pine and Sixth streets. They will be accompanied by the Rolla High School Dixieland Jazz Band and the Rolla Ambassadors, who will urge everyone on Pine Street to follow them to the pavilion on the corner of Ninth and Oak streets.

Rolla Mayor Bill Jenks and Missouri S&T Chancellor John F. Carney III will meet St. Pat and his court at noon at the pavilion. A 21-cannon salute will be sounded from the Missouri S&T athletic fields to signal the arrival. Follies at the pavilion will follow.

St. Pat’s activities will continue through Saturday. The 100th parade down Pine Street starts at 11 a.m. Saturday. A re-enactment of historical moments from the first St. Pat’s in Rolla starts at 2 p.m.

In 1908, George Menefee presided over the first celebration in Rolla as St. Pat. His official vehicle was, of course, a manure spreader.

St. Patrick's Day at the Missouri University of Science and Technology is more than just shamrocks and green beer. That will be especially true next week, as the Rolla campus caps a century of crowning a student as "St. Pat," the patron saint of engineers, in a celebration that is always raucous and, at times, even debauched.

The tradition started in 1908, when 218 students decided to skip school on St. Patrick's Day to hold a celebration. They crowned a fellow student, George Menefee, as the institution's first St. Pat.

Unfortunately, you need some sort of fancy password to access the full story online. But a version of the story (with photos!) will run in the Chronicle's latest print edition dated March 14.

OK. Now on to Follies. Maybe we'll post another cheap video later.

St. Pat's official vehicle is a manure spreader. We have no idea why. (If you know, please tell us.) Anyway, this photo is of an old manure spreader (allegedly) -- a really old manure spreader. Some crazy people are going to make this into a float or something for Saturday's parade.

See if this cheap video works. This is the court preparing for pictures with the Chancellor last Friday.