Bob Haley and Joe Montgomery
When it comes to award banquets and the like, there are times when an organization has a hard time figuring out who to honor.
For the Firefighter John J. Redmond Division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, it was a no-brainer.
At their Hibernian Service Award ceremony Friday night at the Firefighters Union Hall in Center City, the Redmond AOH honored the only living person to have an AOH division named after him (Division 65 in Upper Darby): Joe Montgomery.
“He was chosen by a committee of our executive board,” says Bob Haley, president of Ancient Order of Hibernians Division 22. “Joe’s name wasn’t even challenged.”
Haley, who is 48, recognizes well that Joe Montgomery is from another generation (he’s 90), but he says Montgomery is not set in his ways and he’s open to new thoughts and ideas. Since he’s been around the block a few times, though, Montgomery can be relied upon to provide wise counsel. And the young guys are all too willing to learn from the master.
“Joe is a friend to almost every division in the Philadelphia area and throughout Pennsylvania,” said Haley. “Joe is Pennsylvania’s oldest Hibernian. He’s been around long enough so that he knows what’s been tried and hasn’t worked. He’ll sit there and listen to you and what you have to say, and he’ll give you advice. Still, he likes to say, ‘It’s your generation who will keep the AOH going.’
“Joe’s been to every convention, not just the state but the national. He’s been an officer on almost every level. Everybody knows Joe Montgomery.”
In addition to Montgomery’s longtime dedication to the AOH, Haley says Montgomery is noteworthy for yet another reason: He’s what Bob Gessler, founder of the Hibernian Hunger Project and a leader among Philadelphia Hibernians, has called “the gold standard for an Irish gentleman.” Haley notes that Montgomery used to live at 11th and Jackson and, as a younger man, worked as a teamster.
“He went to work in a suit and tie every day,” says Haley. “He’d change into his work clothes when he got to work. That’s the kind of guy he was.”
The division honored several other people of note:
Hibernian of the year
Hubert Gantz
President Garrettford – Drexel Hill Vol. Fire Co.
AOH Div. 22 Recording Secretary
Irishman of the Year
Edward Dougherty
National Hibernian Hunger Project Chairman
President AOH Div. 39
Ladies Hibernian of the Year
Debbie Lenczynski
Treasurer LAOH Div. 22
