Latrobe's banana split a sweet 'Taste of America'
Latrobe's claim as the birthplace of the banana split got a sweet spot Wednesday.
The treat was invented in 1904 when David Strickler, a 23-year-old apprentice pharmacist at the Tassell Pharmacy in Latrobe, experimented with different ways to make an ice cream sundae. One day, Strickler sliced a banana in two, added scoops of strawberry, vanilla and chocolate ice cream, three kinds of flavored toppings and whipped cream.
The banana split was born.
This 102-year-old tradition attracted the attention of Mark DeCarlo and a Travel Channel show, "Taste of America," which taped segments on the banana split yesterday at the Valley Dairy in downtown Latrobe and The Shack snack bar at nearby St. Vincent College.
The show, which airs at 8 p.m. Tuesdays, travels around the country in search of regional food favorites. No air date has been announced for the banana split show.
"We want to make the world aware that Latrobe is the birthplace of the banana split," said Joseph "Ice Cream Joe" Greubel, president of Valley Dairy.
Wilmington, Ohio, also claims to be the birthplace of the banana split, although theirs was not documented until 1907, according to Greubel. But it is Wilmington that holds an annual Banana Split Festival.
"Someone should celebrate the banana split," Greubel said, "even if they didn't invent it first."
DeCarlo's first stop in investigating the history of Latrobe's banana split was Valley Dairy, where he learned how Greubel got his nickname.
"I was born into the ice cream business. When I was 6, I started going on trips with my dad. He started the Valley Dairy on Main Street in Latrobe in 1938 and I have been in the business ever since," Greubel said.
After Greubel taught DeCarlo some banana split history, the pair practiced making the classic confection. Then they went to St. Vincent to join students in making their own versions of the banana split.
The college played a key role in spreading the popularity of the banana split. Its students frequented the Tassell Pharmacy, which would later become Strickler's Pharmacy, and purchase the split for 10 cents -- twice the cost of a regular sundae.
Students would go home over the summer and share the recipe with friends and family.
DeCarlo and Greubel divided 18 students at The Shack into two groups to see which team could assemble the best banana split. DeCarlo and Greubel each coached a team.
Neither could decide which team had made the best splits, so the assistance of the Rev. Anthony Grossi, manager of the St. Vincent bookstore, was employed.
"We need you to pick the best, the most perfect banana split," DeCarlo said.
Grossi tried each of them before declaring Greubel's team the winners. All participants were rewarded with the opportunity to make their own banana splits.
Kim Wurst, 21, of South Park Township, Allegheny County, said the best part of the afternoon was getting to eat the ice cream at the end. She knew of Latrobe's status as home of the banana split.
"I work in the admissions office and give tours, so I found out about the banana splits in one of the fun facts in the tour guide manual," Wurst said.
