DISCOVERY BAY — It added up to $26,582.
The $1 bills that covered the walls of Fat Smitty’s restaurant in Discovery Bay were taken down for charity Saturday.
The money will be dispersed to the Captain Joseph House Foundation, Discovery Bay Fire &Rescue, Seattle Children’s Hospital and the local branch of the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, Fat Smitty’s Manager Casey Carson said.
“I just think it’s wonderful wherever it goes,” said Willie Knoepfle, chief of the all-volunteer Discovery Bay fire department.
“We appreciate it immensely.”
Carson thanked Knoepfle and the others who helped remove and count the bills. Most importantly, he thanked “everyone who donated money to the walls.”
“We can’t emphasize that enough,” Carson said. “Thank you.”
The $1 bill tradition began at Fat Smitty’s about 30 years ago when a traveling businessman attached a dollar bill to a business card.
Business cards became dollar bills with notes from patrons of the landmark diner.
“Each dollar bill has its own story,” Carson said.
The amount of money collected Saturday was more than 2½ times the amount harvested in Fat Smitty’s last wall cleanup in January 2012.
Five years ago, owner Carl “Fat Smitty” Schmidt, who still lives in the area, donated $10,316 to help build a dining facility for Camp Parsons Boy Scout camp near Brinnon and to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Before Saturday’s effort, Carson said he hoped to surpass the total collected in 2012.
“It’s getting too much,” Carson said of the bills, which covered nearly every square inch of the walls of the multi-room diner.
“They fall off, and the five-year mark seems like a good time to get it out there. We don’t want inflation to eat it up too much.”
Fat Smitty’s donates the bills it collects to local charities such as the Captain Joseph House Foundation of Port Angeles.
Betsy Reed Schultz started the foundation to convert her former Tudor Inn at 1108 S. Oak St. into a haven for military families of those who have died in combat.
The house is named for her son, Army Capt. Joseph Schultz, a Green Beret who was killed in action in Afghanistan on May 29, 2011.
Betsy Reed Schultz described the donation as “amazing.”
Carson said the decision to donate to Captain Joseph House was a “no-brainer.”
“We’re pretty patriotic around here, as everybody knows,” Carson said. “We love our military.”
Carson said the volunteer Discovery Bay Fire &Rescue should receive more funding for the important work it does.
“They’re there for everybody when they come through this area,” Carson said.
Meanwhile, bills that were attached to the roof of Fat Smitty’s were left in place.
“Part of it is it’s a liability,” Carson said. “Part of it is they’re crumbling.”
Fat Smitty’s, which is known for its giant burgers, is closed for the season for annual maintenance and vacations.
The diner is tentatively scheduled to reopen Feb. 16.
Carson pointed to various sections of the restaurant where local families, veterans, Boy Scout groups and members of police and fire departments have left pockets of dollar bills.
“The people are what makes this place,” Carson said.
“Sometimes it’s hard to let the dollar bills go, honestly, because it’s a memory.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
