Love 'em or hate 'em, everybody has an opinion about the A&W Burger Family, the collection of four large fiberglass statues representing the various sizes of burger and root beer choices at A&W restaurants. The statues were placed on the Hillsboro Cultural Resource Inventory in 1983, cited as being "unique remnants of the drive-in culture of the 1960s." For many people, the statues were a landmark along the Tualatin Valley Highway, and bring back childhood memories of simpler times. The statues became public property when donated to the City in 1990.

Like every family history, their story is unique and interesting. They've had a few changes and adventures over the years, including a career change as well as their relocation to the park. The Burger Family hasn't always been together; for nearly 20 years, the Teen Boy was missing, prompting lots of speculation on what might have happened to him. Did he run off the way teens sometimes do? Was he kidnapped? Did he come to an unseemly end? Would he ever come back?

The Burger Family was originally purchased in the late 1950s for the A&W restaurant owned by Forrest Conyers and located at 1319 SE TV Hwy (SE TV Hwy & 13th Ave), currently a used car lot. The Burger Family figures are constructed of painted fiberglass and represented various burgers and root beer menu items: Papa Burger, Mama Burger, Teen Burger and Baby Burger.

Sometime in the late 1970s/early 1980s, the Teen Boy was stolen and never seen again. While there was lots of speculation about what happened to Teen Burger over the years, the real story wasn't so colorful. Teen Boy Burger had been stolen as a prank by some Lincoln High School students and hoisted up the flagpole at their school. The T on his chest had been painted over to become an L for Lincoln High School. The principal called the Dwyer family, who then owned the A&W restaurant, and the figure was reclaimed. Unfortunately, the figure had been damaged and was relegated to the storage area behind the restaurant. No one really knows what exactly happened to the damaged teen boy after that.

In 1984, following the close of the A&W restaurant, the Mama and Baby figures were removed, and the Papa figure was repainted and relocated near the restaurant building. In 1986, all three figures were reunited and relocated to the Papa Aldo's restaurant on 10th Avenue and repainted. They had a career change, and promoted pizzas as a new paint job converted their hamburgers into giant pizzas piled high with sausage, onions and olives. The root beer was changed to look like Coca Cola. Their clothes changed colors to have an Italian flair; Papa had a checkerboard tie added and Mama wore a striped cooking smock—more in keeping with a pizza restaurant.

In 1990, the three figures were donated to the City by the former owner of the pizza restaurant, Dale Mallicoat, as the new owners wanted room for additional parking. In February 1991, the Planning Commission granted approval to relocate the figures. They were removed from Papa Aldo's and placed in temporary storage on the deck near the kid's pool at the Aquatic Center across the street.

Restoration work of the three figures to their original A&W colors began in the spring of 1991 by Hillsboro High School art students under the guidance of Judy Vogeland. The project was completed two years later and in 1993, the figures were relocated to a small plaza along 10th Avenue built specifically for them and funded in part by a donation from the Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors.

The location along TV Highway maintains their historical context of being along a main road, near their original home and across the street from their previous home at Papa Aldo's Pizza. The Burger Family now resides outside the Shute Park Aquatic & Recreation Center (SHARC) on 10th Avenue.

Now that the family had a home, there was discussion of finding Teen Boy, and reuniting him with his family. The search was on for a Teen Boy, and people began to call in with sightings and rumors: Teen Boy was in Albany working for another restaurant; Teen Boy was in Veneta working for a transmission shop; Teen Boy was at the bottom of Hagg Lake. The Hillsboro Argus invited readers to share their stories about Teen Boy and the Burger Family. In 1996, a Teen Boy figure available for purchase was found in the old J.C. Penney building in Longview, Washington. His adventures weren't over yet; on the way home to Hillsboro, the pick-up truck transporting him was rear-ended by a driver no doubt distracted by the sight of a giant hamburger held aloft. Teen Boy was safely belted in, however, and survived this close call without injury. He was repainted to the original A&W colors and united with his new family in the mini-plaza at the Shute Park Aquatic & Recreation Center.

In 2008, a visitor tried to sit on top of the hamburger Baby Burger was holding, causing a serious break. She was removed to another site to convalesce for about a year.  Her disappearance caused worried citizens to place a flurry calls to Hillsboro Parks & Recreation. It was reminiscent of an Amber Alert, giving Baby Burger her name: Amber.

A&W National Marketing Director Wendy Becker of Dearborn Michigan says A&W no longer uses the figures for promotional purposes, although they still hold the trademark certificate on them.

The Burger Family are local celebrities and their story has attracted attention from throughout the Portland Metro area. They have been featured in both newspapers and television. They are literally and figuratively icons.

The figures spark nostalgic feelings in the community; everyone seems to have a memory of stopping at the A&W after a trip to the coast or a ball game. Today visitors are often seen having their picture taken along side the figures. Click here for related photos and articles.