Thursday, April 19, 2007
Rick Younger
Year: 1972
Hometown: Kansas City, Kan.
Degrees: Journalism and English
Back in the day: Younger played in a rock ‘n’ roll band and worked at the Rock Chalk, a bar and grill that once stood where the Crossing is today. He took part in Strike Day on April 8, 1970, to protest the Vietnam War and 12 days later witnessed the chaos of the Kansas Union burning.
When he wasn’t working or playing music, Younger was going to concerts. He met his future wife during his sophomore year in college. Back in 1970, men had to bring dates to get into some concerts, so he and a buddy called the dorms ahead of time and said they’d take the first two girls down the stairs to the show. He claimed the taller of the girls before they even walked out; her name was Debbie.
The grad life: After graduation, Younger lived in St. Louis and toured with his band until his now late ex-wife, Debbie, was finished with her education degree. After touring for a few years, he went back to school to study accounting and later worked for the state government in Topeka.
In 1988, at a wedding in Topeka, the owner of Bogart’s bar on Vermont Street in Lawrence asked Younger to bartend and he accepted immediately. Later, the owner sold the bar to Younger, who renamed it Rick’s Place to avoid legal battles over naming rights. Although the bar is now in its third location — 846 Illinois St. — Younger is still doing the same thing.
Today: Younger says he only gets four hours of sleep a night, so he has plenty of time to focus on his bar. Sometimes he’s in there all day, he says, and other times only for a few hours. If he’s not in the bar, he’s working at home or staying active in the Lawrence Beverage Association fighting the city’s smoking ban. Younger says he was frustrated that after collecting so many signatures to request that a citywide vote be held on the ban, the LBA’s petition was denied by the city government.
He says: “I’m still the prettiest man in Lawrence. That’s about the only thing I’ve got going for me.”
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