Greensburg firefighter’s burger tradition helps raise needed funds
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Highland Avenue residents bringing their morning cup of coffee onto the porch Friday likely got a whiff of something besides Arabica beans. There was a smell of freshly cut onions in the air.
By 7 a.m., members of Greensburg Fire Department Hose Company No. 8 were busy peeling and slicing 600 pounds of Vidalia onions to be fried in the afternoon and served by the heap atop “Shuey Burgers,” a Greensburg grill staple for decades and a reliable fundraiser for the fire company.
“Back in the 1960s, there was always a street carnival, and the firemen would set up a tent to sell food,” said firefighter Tony Manley.
“They started with one or two grills, and then when that got too small, they put up the building where we cook them nowadays.”
In the carnival days, longtime firefighter and former assistant chief Louis C. Shuey was a mainstay behind the grill and also took the lead in ordering supplies. One day, a customer walked up and asked for “one of those Shuey burgers.”
Now the burger — and the building where it is cooked — are named in his memory. Shuey died in 2011.
Elysia Battistella of Hempfield has been helping prepare and serve Shuey Burgers for three decades, joining her father when she was about 8 years old.
Now she’s in charge of ordering supplies.
“We usually order about 300 pounds of hamburger and a dozen of the 50-pound onion bags,” she said. “It’s fun to see a lot of people come out, and it’s great to keep the tradition going.”
Money from food sales goes toward Hose Company No. 8’s equipment fund. And don’t get any fancy ideas: No cheese or lettuce to be found here, only your choice of onions. There’s even a typical ordering style for regulars: “Let me get two with and two without.”
This year, Battistella said organizers are adding a new item to the lineup.
“We’re trying ‘Shuey Sausages’ this year,” she said. And, naturally, they come with or without a heaping helping of onions.
The company sources all of its products locally, including meat from Hoffer’s Ligonier Valley Packing, produce from Maloberti Produce Co. in Greensburg and bread from Cellone’s in Pittsburgh.
Firefighter Mahlon Manley, who has been helping out at the burger bashes since the 1970s, said he’s proud to keep Shuey’s culinary creation going.
“I was a server for a long time, and now I’m a cashier,” he said. “I just love giving back to the community and seeing them come out to support us.”
The fundraiser goes until the food runs out. That’s usually about three hours after sales start, Battistella said.
Hose Company No. 8’s “Shuey Burger” nights will take place at 4 p.m. July 15 and Aug. 12 and at 11 a.m. Sept. 17.
For more, call 724-834-3908.