Many creations at station

Even without a chimney, Santa made it to the eighth annual firefighters' luncheon.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- All aglow with good will toward men (and women), Battalion Chief Robert Hian lauded the fire chief's annual Christmas lunch for its camaraderie.
"Nah," Hian said, changing his mind with a grin and a nod to the cook, Chief John J. O'Neill Jr. "We look at it as free lunch."
O'Neill took the good-natured ribbing in stride as he seasoned and tossed pasta salad. His eighth annual Christmas lunch Thursday at No. 1 fire station downtown wouldn't have been complete without a little teasing.
Fifteen pounds of sloppy Joes bubbled on the stove as O'Neill reviewed the menu that included a meat and cheese tray, pizza, deviled eggs, cookies, chips and pickles. Fire Inspector Leslie Murphy called the food an "awesome spread."
After seven years of ham as the main course, O'Neill switched to sloppy Joes this year. He said the firefighters wanted something different and he couldn't afford steaks.
"I had seven years' of notes on ham," O'Neill said, stirring the sloppy Joes. "I had it down to a science."
Capt. Ron Russo, one-time restaurateur, supplied the sloppy-Joe recipe. He showed off a mammoth (20-gallon) pot rescued from his restaurant, now used for fire-station soup. A small child could sit in the accompanying ladle.
"Frosty the Snowman" jingled on Russo's cell phone as he pitched in to help with the food preparation that began at 8:30 a.m. Thursday. All firefighters on and off duty were invited, as were retirees.
O'Neill has been holding the Christmas lunch since 1998, when he became chief. He pays for everything.
Expressing gratitude
Beginning at noon, firefighters began showing up in firetrucks, two stations at a time, to exchange handshakes, hugs and Christmas greetings. The department has 135 firefighters, with 32 on duty Thursday.
"This is my way of showing that I appreciate what they do all year long," O'Neill said. "Sometimes during the year, you forget to say thanks."
O'Neill cleaned pots and pans as his elves -- Firefighters Carl Farino, Dan Drummond and Mickey Durkin -- cut buns and stuffed celery with cream cheese and peanut butter.
Elf work voluntary? "Uh, yeah," Durkin said hesitantly.
"They're all volunteers," Russo said of the kitchen help. It sounded a bit ominous.
O'Neill considered the sloppy Joes a success for his "one and a half-star" restaurant. Farino, between bites, called his sandwich very good, adding with a smile: "I didn't have to say that."
Despite the lack of a chimney, Santa, rosy cheeks and all, paid a visit. Everyone turned as the sound of sleigh bells made its way to the second-floor kitchen.
The face behind the snow-white beard looked a lot like city patrolman Bill Golec.
Golec, er, Santa, surveyed the kitchen filled with firefighters and said he'd have to check them against his good-bad list. "All bad," he quipped, squinting through his spectacles.
meade@vindy.com