221. SPD 2021 · XL307 · “S” · B&A · APBC · TDPTPS · 80S SG
Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh! Happy St. Patrick’s Day 2021, fellow Pete Geeks. I hope you’ve got one of your favorite Petes in hand—perhaps an SPD commemorative—and filled with your favorite tobacco, ready to lift your bowl in celebration. (Guinness is optional, although here in the States and in some other parts of the world we can enjoy one of my all-time favorites, Guinness Foreign Extra Stout.) I also hope you’ve got your Capt. Peterson Secret Squadron Decoder Ring handy. If so, you can easily decrypt today’s rather fractal post. If not, read on! SPD 2021 Everyone knows the Irish flag symbolizes the unity (white) of Catholics (green) Protestants (orange), but only Pete Geeks know that Charles Peterson sought to go deeper even than the tricolor flag with the three symbols he placed on every nickel band: the shamrock, Irish Wolfhound and round tower—symbols that could be seen on every nickel-banded Pete until around 1963. Charles Peterson loved his adopted country, incorporating into every nickel-band pipe K&P made three great symbols of Ireland: the shamrock, the Wolf Hound and the round tower. St. Patrick is said to have used the shamrock to explain how God could be one and yet three: a leaf standing for Father, for Son and for the Holy Spirit. But the plant has come to symbolize Ireland itself, and I believe this is the reason Peterson used it. The middle nickel mark is of the Irish Wolf Hound, a giant in the dog world (in fact, the tallest breed). Its name in Irish, Cú Faoil means “brave wolf.” The breed goes back to at least 391AD, where it is mentioned as being used in gladiatorial games. But its reputation in Ireland is not only for its bravery, but for its protection of family and farm. Symbolically it represents the Irish spirit: strong and family-centered. The round tower, the third mark, was built from about the 9th through 13th centuries within a monastery or near a church. Thought to have functioned as belfries by some, they also indicate the deeply religious spirit of Ireland. The nickel-mount marks were part of K&P’s brand identity until around 1963, some sixty years ago now, and if you get a minute you should drop them a line and let them know you’d love to see them bring the marks back. XL307 My best mate for many years, the one who introduced me to the Peterson System, smoked an XL307. Like him, I always thought of the shape as larger than life, and indeed it was the biggest System shape in the catalog until the B42 came along in 2010. But after the release of the 2020 POY and the increase of interest in the original 9BC and the original shape 9, I began to think that the time might be right to take the plunge. But K&P no longer stamps the bowl 9 / shape 307 with the XL307 stamp (for reasons no one seems to know). So instead of waiting…