Pete Hand’s Irish heritage, like that of many Irish Americans, was always a bit of a mystery. “My family is from County Mayo on my father’s side, but I was never told how far back,” he says. “My aunt used to say that a Hand fought in every American war since the Civil War so it must have been very far back.”
Mystery aside, there’s no doubt that his Irishness has always been a fixture in his life. “St. Patrick’s Day was always a fun time at our house,” says Hand, who grew up with an older brother and two sisters in St. Francis Xavier Parish in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia. “My mother always took us to see the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.”
In fact, it turned out to be a driving force in his life—that, and a work ethic that propels him to pitch in wherever he sees something that needs to be done. That’s how he wound up in the Emerald Society of Philadelphia, a fraternal organzation whose members usually come from law enforcement or the fire service. At the time he wasn’t in either, though he is currently a lieutenant in the fire police of the Swedesburg Fire Company which is just a short walk from the home he shares with his wife and high school sweetheart, Bernadette, and where they raised their four children, Jeannine, Denise, Peter and Patrice. But Hand had a cop friend who invited him to a couple of Emerald Society events where he wound up helping out. They asked him to be on their board of directors and he agreed, joining in 1992 and continuing to serve now as a trustee.
Taking a short walk and helping out was also what launched his decades-long commitment to the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Notre Dame Div. 1 in Montgomery County. It was certainly convenient: His house is right across the street. One day he sauntered over and sat at the bar. One of the members was celebrating a birthday with a party in the hall and invited him to stay for the festivities. And that was that. He became a member in 1996, president of the Home Association in 1999, and in 2002 was elected division president, a position he held for eight years.
And it was a challenging eight years. The AOH had for years sponsored a St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Norristown. “They asked me to help out so I got involved,” he says. By 2002 he was chairman of the parade which was faltering badly. “But 2004 it was very bad, the attendance was much worse. I told the committee if we don’t move it there parade’s going to die.”
So they reached out to Conshohocken Borough and the parade officially moved to Fayette Street in 2006. “For our very first parade the sun was out and it was beautiful. And from there it just got bigger and bigger,” says Hand, who served as grand marshal in 2008. “This is what happens when you get people coming together and working together.” (He also gives credit to his wife: “She’s always behind me helping out. If it weren’t for her a lot of things wouldn’t get done.”)
Hand and his cohorts brought even more to the St. Patrick’s Day festivities. He noticed that after the Norristown parade, few people came back to the AOH. “I thought this is our parade, everybody should be coming back here,” he says. So one year, he hired a couple of bands to play and tied on an apron and made ham and cabbage, shepherd’s pie, and potato soup. “And I think hot dogs for the kids,” he laughed.”It turned out to be our biggest day financially of the year. We packed the place.” (In the following years, he convinced the Ladies AOH to take over the cooking.)
Not long after that, the parade committee added a second event to pump up the excitement—an Irish coffee contest that every year draws entrants from many local restaurants, most of which don’t normally serve Irish food.
By this time, Pete Hand had found himself a brand new way to live his Irish heritage. AOH Notre Dame Div. 1 is the home of Irish Thunder, a pipe and drum band. In 2005, three drum majors had to leave due to illness. “We didn’t have anybody else, so I decided to give it a try,” says Hand. “Eighteen years later, I’m still doing it.”
When Irish Thunder marches down the street or on the field, that’s Pete Hand in a kilt, under a tall hat, carrying a baton, leading the way. He’s traveled to Ireland with the band four times and even led them in the Philadelphia Pulaski Day Parade, the first Irish band to march in a parade celebrating Polish heritage.
Even though he doesn’t have a drop of Polish blood, Hand is always happy to help people celebrate their Polish heritage too—he regularly puts in time on his parish’s annual Polish festival. He has some festival experience: For 10 years his AOH ran an Irish Festival in nearby Mont Clare that, like all AOH events, helps support AOH Charities. The festival ended in 2018.
Hand also served on the AOH Golf Committee for over 25 years, helping to raise thousands of dollars for the AOH Charities, including for the annual AOH High School Scholarship awards for students at two local high schools, Archbishop Carroll and Pope John Paul II.
Though he recently retired (after 35 years) from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and stepped down from the board for AOH Charities, Hand hasn’t slowed down much. He was recently nominated and elected to serve as President of AOH Montgomery County Board and continues to play a role on the AOH Isle of Erin Major Degree Team, which helps bring AOH members into full membership.
For Hand, it’s all a matter of pride. “Pride in my heritage,” he says. “It’s something you don’t want to see die. You want to keep everything going while enjoying it at the same time.”
