By Stacee Sledge
Dick Young, founder of Northwest Sausage & Deli and Dick’s Brewing Company in Chehalis, was always a big supporter of Dr. Isaac Pope and his Pope’s Kids Place.
“Dad and Dr. Pope had a really good relationship,” says Julie Young, who took over her father’s companies when he passed away in 2009. “Dr. Pope and Pope’s Kids Place does so much for our community and Dad always supported that.”
Pope’s Kids Place is a non-profit organization in Chehalis that offers for different services for area kids and their families.
“The heart of the organization is respite care for children with special needs,” explains Pope’s Kids Place administrative assistant Jo Pope, “which allows parents to have a safe place for their child while they’re working or if they need a break.”
Pope’s Kids Place is licensed for 24-hour care.
“These families can’t hire a babysitter because of their medical needs,” Pope continues. “A lot are developmentally delayed or on respirators or tube feeding.”
Pope’s Kids Place also has a few children who are residents. “This has become their home,” says Pope. “They have parents, but they’re not in a position to take care of their children full-time.”
To help support this important community service, Pope’s Kids Place also has a pediatric medical clinic that serves all children and a dental clinic that serves only children on DSHS or Medicaid.
Other dentists in the community typically serve only insured children, according to Pope, and therefore many kids don’t have access to dental services. “Our clinic is only for those children,” she says.
Pope’s Kids Place also operates a preschool, which is open year-round to both typical and special-needs children ages 2 ½ to 6 years old.
“There’s a lot going on here,” Pope says with a laugh.
For many years, Dr. Pope has held an annual bowling tournament to help raise funds to support the important work of Pope’s Kids Place. Dick Young was always happy to sponsor the event.
“Dick did not bowl,” Pope says with a laugh, “He was never in the tournament. But he did sponsor it.”
“After Dad passed away, Dr. Pope came to me and said, ‘Julie I’d really like to do something in memory of your dad,’” says Young.
“Julie helps support the community in various things – just as Dick had. So now it’s been named in his honor,” Pope says.
Dick Young built his two businesses in the 1980s and 1990s, which continue to grow and produce popular products with his daughter at the helm.
“My dad was the kind of guy that, when he had an idea, he figured out how to make it work,” Young says. “He learned how to make beer through trial and error.”
His friends – whom Dick Young asked to taste-test his creations – loved it. He began home brewing and slowly perfected the recipes, beginning to sell them in 1997. Dick Danger Ale, one of the first Young created, in 1994, remains unchanged and is now the brewery’s flagship beer.
“He might not have known what he was doing when he started,” Young says with a laugh, “but he figured it out.”
And how. Dick’s Brewing Company beers are now found on shelves throughout the region, from Portland and up the I-5 corridor to Bellingham, and in Eastern Washington, Montana, Idaho and Alaska.
Julie Young always worked for her dad at the deli while growing up, and continued to work there during college breaks. After graduating, she returned and took on managerial duties as well as bookkeeping for both the deli and brewery.
When Dick Young passed away in 2009, Julie Young knew she either had to sell it or figure out how to make it work and continue.
It wasn’t a difficult decision to make.
“The deli is home to me – and the brewery. I was there when he was building it. I was six years old when he opened the doors. It was always part of my life,” she says. “To think of that going away was something I didn’t want to lose.”
The Dick Young Memorial Bowl & BBQ takes place Saturday, October 20th at the Fairway Lanes in Centralia. Registration starts at 12:30, followed by bowling at 1:00 p.m.
“Bowling teams are welcome, at any level,” says Pope. “League bowlers, recreational bowlers, we have both. Just come for the fun of it. And the barbecue is open to the public whether they bowl or not.”
“Everyone who participates gets food tickets to come to the brewery afterward and have food,” says Young. “Then we open up the brewery for the public to come and enjoy beer and food and music.”
The Brewery donates all of the proceeds of the food to Pope’s. This year the Backfire Band will play, donating their time in hopes of attracting even more people to raise more money for Pope’s.
An entry fee of $225 per team of three includes the barbecue afterward at Dick’s Brewery.
The barbecue is held from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and is open to the public. Tickets are $15.00 for the eats and a no-host bar will be available serving up Dick’s remarkable brews.
For more information, call 360.748.3202.
Dick Young Memorial Bowl & Barbeque
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Registration at 12:30 p.m., Bowl at 1:00 p.m.
Fairway Lanes
1501 S. Gold
Centralia WA
Dick’s Brewing Company
3516 Galvin Road
Centralia WA 98531
360.736.1603
Pope’s Kids Place
230 Washington Way
Centralia WA 98531
360.736.9178
