Beloved PA McDonald's Employee Turns 100

IRWIN, PA — While the coronavirus has tried its best to put a damper on the past year, a beloved Pittsburgh-area McDonald's employee has many reasons to celebrate the one to come.

Ruthie Shuster, who's worked for nearly a quarter century wiping down tables and greeting customers at McDonald's in North Huntingdon, turns 100 years old Wednesday.

And this year, according to Action 4 News in Pittsburgh, Shuster has made a special request for birthday cards.

Shuster's legions of fans — many of whom know her for her smile, others for the occasional performances she puts on while at work — have delivered. In fact, the response prompted the restaurant to set up a special mailbox just to collect birthday wishes from her adoring customers.

The pandemic changed things for the on-the-go centenarian-to-be. She misses the crowds of people at McDonald's, and she also misses dancing.

On her 92nd birthday, Shuster had a polka party at McDonald's, which throws her a birthday bash each year. She danced nonstop to the sound of the four-piece polka band.

“All her life she never walked, she always ran,” her daughter-in-law Mary Lou Shuster told TribLIVE in 2013. “And that's her secret.”

Thanks to the pandemic, Shuster's dancing days have temporarily been put on hold. Still, she's doing great. On turning 100, Shuster said "it’s just a number" and she has no plans to retire, she told Action 4 News.

“I get payday! I get paid, I pay my bills and that’s good. I never had a lot of money but I always had enough, that’s the way it is,” she said.

To send or leave a card for Shuster, mail or drop one off at McDonald’s, 9061 Lincoln Highway, North Huntingdon, PA 15642.