When Richard Stetch opened Dick’s Bake Shop in 1963 at 1603 Newport Ave., Northampton, he never thought he would still be working when he was 90 years old.

Stetch does all of the work himself, both in the kitchen and running the business. Every Thursday and Friday, he wakes up by 5 a.m. and spends all day baking.

The sunny little storefront was once a barbershop before being converted into his business. Ukrainian treats are displayed behind a glass case, with freshly canned goods on top. Ukrainian cookbooks, ceramics and Stetch’s own floral arrangements decorate the shop.

“Some people live in Northampton, and they don’t even know this bakery is here,” Stetch said.

Stetch’s journey began when he was young and his mother, Barbara, asked him for help in the kitchen while making halupkis. She watched him mix the beef and rice and saw he had talent early on. She eventually taught him how to make chocolate nut pie, his favorite dessert, along with paska, a traditional Ukrainian Easter bread.

“I never thought I was going to cook or bake or anything,” Stetch said.

Barbara used the Ukrainian recipes that had been passed down from earlier generations and sold baked goods from her home before Stetch bought the bake shop. She also spent eight years cooking and baking for St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church, also on Newport Avenue.

When Stetch opened the bakery, many of his customers were members of the church. His business grew through word of mouth.

Stetch worked in the office at Mack Trucks for 31 years, in addition to running his shop. His mother started baking for the weekend while he was at work, and he spent his weekends in the kitchen with her.

For years, Stetch also had a popular bakery route at Mack Trucks. When his mother began to have health issues, Stetch retired early to take care of her.

“She was 99 when she died, and she would sit on a stool. I would give her the patties and the cutout things, and she would pinch pierogies,” Stetch said.

Stetch bakes kiffles for Christmas each year. He makes Ukrainian wedding bread for weddings and cookies, nut rolls and poppy seed rolls for funerals.

“Most of the stuff I bake is ethnic, Ukrainian. At Easter time, we bake the paska bread, and now whoever orders, I make them halupkis, or I make cabbage,” he said.

Easter is Stetch’s busiest time of year with paska, the traditional Ukrainian Easter bread, as his biggest seller. He also sells the supplies to make pysanky, Ukrainian Easter eggs.

During the rest of the year, his most popular item is pompushkis, and over the years, he made one simple change to his recipe.

“When my mom and I were working, we found out young people like them fried, like a doughnut. We fill them with cabbage and potato and cheese, like a pierogi,” he said.

The second-best seller is pierogies, which is his favorite food to make.

Working in the kitchen is more than a hobby for Stetch.

“I love it. It’s like an art I’ve learned,” he said.

Times have changed since he began, and while his Ukrainian treats are still popular, Stetch has branched out to include German foods, such as strudels, made with his own dough. He also makes his own Hungarian stuffed peppers.

“I fill the Hungarian rice peppers with cabbage,” he said. “The men all buy that, because it’s hot. And you know, you have to wash the pepper, and you have to gut it and take the seeds out and shred cabbage, and you fill each pepper individually. That takes time.”

Stetch’s life has not been without difficulties, and he was almost forced to quit baking due to his failing eyesight and a life-threatening case of pneumonia. He had eye surgery four times and even went blind for a year. The fourth surgery restored his sight completely, and he went back to the kitchen as soon as he could.

Stetch looks forward to talking to his customers each week and has relationships that go back for many years.

“This last Easter, a lady came in on a Saturday, and she said, ‘It’s 30 years today that I had my wedding, and you baked all the cookies.’ She lived in Florida, and they came up and came in to see me,” he said.

Many customers are in awe that Stetch is still working at his age.

“Even young people come in, and they are shocked. They say, ‘Richard, it’s good just to see you again.’ And everybody comes in, and they’re nice, and they appreciate that I’m working here,” he said.

Some people have asked Stetch why he is still working. His response was matter of fact.

“It keeps me going. I keep moving,” he said. “I’m so used to working. And I have a lot of paperwork to do because I have a business. I do everything myself.”

When he’s not in the kitchen, Stetch works in his garden growing flowers.

Stetch’s 90th birthday is March 6, and his family is taking him out to eat to celebrate.

“I never thought I’d live this long,” Stetch said.

When asked what his mother would think about him baking and operating his shop at the age of 90, Stetch thought for a moment before answering.

“I think she would have said to me, ‘Richard, enjoy yourself.’”

Stetch takes orders a week in advance for items he might not have available. He can be reached at 610-262-6076, though it is better to order in person.

Dick’s Bake Shop is open 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.