Sharing is caring

By CHANSE WATSON

Managing Editor

WALLACE — It’s no secret that many have fallen on hard times in the Silver Valley for one reason or another. It’s also no secret that the organizations in place to help these people could always use some extra resources.

The new owners of the 1313 Club in Wallace, Heidi Simpson Lee and Keith Dary, understand this and are hoping to chip in with their “Sharing with the Silver Valley 50/50 raffle.”

For an entire month, raffle tickets will be sold at the 1313 and half the money raised will go directly to that month’s Silver Valley charity or organization. The other half of the money will go to who ever wins the raffle at the beginning of each month. Following the selection of a winner, a new charity is chosen to benefit from the cause.

So far, the raffle has raised around $500 split between the Shoshone County Crisis and Resource Center, Shoshone Pet Rescue, Silver Valley Food Bank and Meals on Wheels.

As for why the owners would start this event that benefits Silver Valley organizations, Heidi got straight to the point.

“Because it needs it,” she said with a laugh. “They never have enough resources. People know about us, and so through that, if we can communicate to needy organizations and create that awareness — then why not?”

Keith also explained that the idea to do this has something to do with a profound sense of thankfulnesses for what they both have.

“Heidi and I have both been blessed throughout our lives with a lot of support via friends and other people to make our careers work for us and make us more successful. So we kind of feel like we want to give back.”

Of course putting on this raffle or even being in the Silver Valley wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for the couple purchasing the 1313 Club.

Heidi, a Spokane native, spent nearly three decades traveling the world and the country before ending up in Phoenix/Flagstaff, Ariz. It was here, she would marry Keith and decide she wanted to move closer to family in the Spokane area.

Originally from a small town in Wisconsin, Keith spent the last 25 years living the big city lifestyle and wanted to get back to his roots.

With both of their goals in mind, the couple moved to North Idaho with the intent of running a farm. When this idea fell through, they shifted their sights to purchasing a restaurant in Wallace.

Initially, this too almost fell through as the first place they looked at wasn’t the right fit. As luck would have it though, they were shown the 1313 while they were in town looking at the first business. This first showing prompted them to make an offer less than 24 hours after seeing it.

The quick decision to buy the 1313 was based on their shared joy of taking exciting risks.

“Take big chances, life’s too short,” Heidi said.

Now that they are here, Heidi and Keith wish to not only have the 1313 succeed, but they also want to find ways to give back. This is where the 50/50 raffle comes in.

“If you can — find some way to give back to the community that supports you,” Heidi explained. “It’s not necessarily with people coming through, ‘hey can you donate? hey can you donate?’ Some of us can’t. So this gives everybody the opportunity to play a small hand in taking care of the people that take care of you.”

On the side of having the business succeed, the couple has given the place a slightly newer look by moving some things around, but at the same time making sure to not change what makes the 1313 unique.

“There’s a lot of history here, 1313 has been here for a long time and were not looking to reinvent the wheel,” Keith said. “We’re just looking to put a little bit of a spit shine on it and give it our own little twist and be apart of the community.”

Part of this new twist is a redesigned back room dubbed, “The Wallace Room.” The room holds all of the Wallace curiosities and mementos that have been fixtures at the 1313 for years. It also sports some professional dart boards and steel-tipped darts that can be used by simply renting out the room to a party or group. The room can also still serve as a meeting/conference area.

The next drawing for the 50/50 will be Thursday, June 7 and the benefiting organization will be the Osburn VFW.