Retiring McDonald's cashier began working before Happy Meals, Chicken McNuggets
Sharp took the job at the fast food giant in 1978. (McDonald's)
GIBSONIA, Pa. - When 84-year-old Dot Sharp started her first shift at her local McDonald’s in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, roughly 16 miles north of Pittsburgh, Happy Meals and McNuggets hadn’t even been added to the menu yet.
Sharp, who celebrated her birthday on Dec. 2, finally hung up her drive-thru headset after 45 years of loyal service.
"The drive-thru line was wrapped all the way around the building because so many of her regulars wanted to wish her well," a spokesperson for McDonald’s franchisee said in a press release.
Sharp, who started working at the Gibsonia McDonald’s location started in 1978. The first Happy Meals were introduced a year later followed by the McNuggets in 1980.
She was even around to experience the ill-fated McPIzza which was launched in 1986 before being discontinued in 2000.
To put it into perspective, when Sharp started working, a Big Mac cost only 90 cents, according to a Reddit thread that showed McDonald’s menu pricing in 1978.
"Dot has been an amazing contributor to McDonald’s of Gibsonia," said McDonald’s Owner/Operator Meghan Sweeney. "Our customers love her and so have generations of her fellow co-workers. We’re so lucky to have had her on our team!"
Sharp officially served her last order on Jan. 12 to a fellow employee, her granddaughter.
"We truly appreciate all that Dot did for our organization," said Meghan Sweeney. "She brought a sunny disposition to every shift and always made the customer her top priority. I’m hoping Dot enjoys a well-deserved break in her retirement."