On Sunday, Highland Brewing is hosting a celebration of life ceremony - which includes a symphony, food, brief remarks, and live music - to honor their late founder, Oscar Wong.
Wong, who was diagnosed with cancer years ago, passed away peacefully on May 25 surrounded by family at his home. He founded Highland in 1994, opening Asheville’s first legal craft brewery since Prohibition, according to the brewery’s website.
His daughter, Leah Wong Ashburn, is the president and CEO of Highland Brewing. Recently, she chatted with BPR about her father and his lasting impact on the community.
Ashburn’s Q&A with BPR reporter and host Jose Sandoval is below, edited for clarity and brevity.
SANDOVAL: Your dad is such a beloved figure here in our region. Can you talk about who your dad was as a person?
ASHBURN: Dad was just full of life. He came to this country (from Jamaica) at 18 to get an education. He's 100% Chinese-born and raised in Jamaica. Came to the U.S. to go to Notre Dame, so he thinks he's Irish, and he just fell in love with this country.
He was eternally grateful for people that befriended him, and invited him to their houses for summers and spring breaks and holidays because he couldn't get back home. He went back one time after he left, so he was really embraced by people in the U.S. and fell in love with this country for its people and its opportunity, too.
SANDOVAL: Can you also talk about how he ended up coming here to Asheville?
ASHBURN: He bounced around a lot, multiple cities: Boston, San Francisco, New Jersey, Charlotte and then Asheville. That was really career-related. Coming up here was because mom and dad started visiting and just fell in love with Asheville. They had a house here and would come on weekends and then for a week at a time, and every time they packed up, they were sad.
So they just finally realized that they could just live here, and they moved up here with my sister and were part of building a group home with the United Methodist Association.
SANDOVAL: When did he get the idea to do a brewery?
ASHBURN: This brewery comes up as an idea, and a mutual friend introduced him to an award-winning brewer who was in Charlotte at the time. And dad said to him, “I'd love to partner with you, but I'm not interested in staying in Charlotte – Asheville's the place to be.”
SANDOVAL: Asheville's so different now. We have so many breweries around town. How was it back in 1994? Were there a lot of breweries?
ASHBURN: The folks that have been in Asheville for a long time know that we were the first legal brewery in town since Prohibition. Dad liked to be specific. It was a quiet time in downtown Asheville. There were inklings of growth and definitely spirit here. Downtown had a couple things, but there was so much more that could happen, and then did happen really because of individuals in this city that took it upon themselves.
SANDOVAL: What was the reception like towards Highland Brewing when it first opened up?
ASHBURN: One of dad's favorite stories is from Judd, his handball buddy. When dad said, “I'm gonna open a brewery.” Judd said, “Have you lost your mind?” And then he tasted it and he said, “No one's gonna buy this bleep.” He said, “no one's gonna buy it Oscar, you gonna lose all your money.” It was a risk. It was part of dad's retirement and mom's retirement that they put into this company, and we still put so much into it.
SANDOVAL: What do you think is your father's lasting legacy?
ASHBURN: I know that he added a new element to the city, and he added it in a way that the city is proud of it, excited about it. It's been good for the city. So manufacturing jobs, plus the social aspect of the way the brewery has developed from just a manufacturing operation, has added not only a good company to the area, but almost a billion dollars in economic impact. That was not his vision, but look what can happen when you start something new.
Service for Oscar Wong in Asheville
The celebration of life ceremony for Wong takes place at Highland Brewing on June 29 at noon in the Meadow. Attendees are encouraged to carpool or use rideshare as a large crowd is expected.
Shuttles are available from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Asheville Sun Soo Martial Arts on 800 Fairview Road at River Ridge Market Place. Full event details are available on Highland Brewing's Instagram.
