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Saturday, October 3, 2009

World's Oldest Bartender

Keep your newfangled flair and mixology. I'm proud to say that Pennsylvania has the world's oldest bartender... well, had.
Angelo Cammarata retired this summer, after his son had a heart attack. His son, it should be mentioned had just about reached retirement age himself.
Angelo is 95 years old, making him the oldest bartender and the longest serving bartender (according to Guiness Book of World Records). He started tending bar when Prohibition was lifted at the age of 19. Literally the second Prohibition lifted. His father bought a truck of beer, and the patrons counted down to midnight, at which point he served his first bottle. It was Fort Pitt beer, and sold for 10 cents a bottle, and was a rousing sucess.
In his time as a barkeep, he remembers playing Milton Berle and Sinatra on the television--his was the only one in town.
He worked primarily in his own bar in West View, which was a no frills establishment. Meanwhile, he has won his way into the Anheuser-Busch 70 years of service award (he's the only member), and the Jim Bean Hall of Fame. He doubts that anyone will beat his record.
The only thing that kept him away for all those years was a stint in the Army during WWII, because Uncle Sam doesn't officially imbibe.

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