It was 1965, shortly after Mardi Gras. A group of friends sat at the Galley Restaurant across from the old Covington Courthouse. Lieutenant Colonel Earl Wilson, Warren Illing, Sr, H.M. “Ollie” Olson, and James Heinrich were among them. The conversation turned to the local Mardi Gras day parade, assembled by the Lions Club. Colonel Wilson, who at the time was the president of the Chamber of Commerce, made mention of the fact that most rural St. Tammany residents had never seen a “New Orleans style” parade, adding “wouldn’t it be great to bring one to the community?” By the end of the meal plans were underway to form Covington’s first carnival organization. The group relied on community support, and the Mystic Krewe of Olympia’s first ball was held in 1966 at St. Paul School’s field house.
