You didn't need a lucky shamrock to find an authentic piece of St. Patrick's Day yesterday.
Ireland native Tom Fittis was dressed in a kilt and playing his bagpipes Thursday on Main Street in front of Topz.
"When I first got here they had me playing inside on the stage," said Fittis. "It only took a second for them to figure out this is way too loud for that."
Fittis started playing bagpipes when he was 12 and he was named all-Ireland bagpipe champion when he was 16. Now 55, he has been playing for 43 years.
"I guess I've gotten the hang of it by now," said Fittis, who lives in Smithville. He said the bagpipes don't take as much hot air as you might expect. "It takes more technique than brute force to play, although you get light-headed when you first start."
Fittis said he does most of his bagpipe playing at funerals where "Amazing Grace" is a popular song. He said the other bagpipe song most people recognize is "Scotland the Brave."
Fittis said there are in fact a number of Scot-Irish descendants in Warren County with names such as Greer, McVey, McCormack and McBride.