Letter to the Editor: Beer at Indian King Tavern

To the editor:

On May 5, 2012, for the first time in 139 years, beer was served at the Indian King Tavern in Haddonfield. Or, to be more exact, the Friends of the Indian King Tavern staged a fundraising beer tasting event. The event was a huge success, thanks to the dedicated work of many volunteers, suppliers, governments and others.

We particularly want to thank our sponsors and suppliers – the Pour House, Yards Brewery and the British Chip Shop. Special thanks to Terrie Murphy, Christopher Thomas and Bill Brown who led the effort and made sure everything came together. Thanks also to so many others who helped out in so many ways. We also thanks the Borough of Haddonfield and our three commissioners, Mayor Tish Colombi, Ed Borden and Jeff Kasko who officially started our event by tapping the kegs to start the beer flowing.

The Friends of the Indian King supports the State's Parks Department in interpreting the Revolutionary War era Indian King and helping to keep it open to the public. We also are working to bring back a part of the Tavern that has been lost to history - the 'ark' that was built in 1760 but torn down at the beginning of the 20th Century.

The beer tasting event brought more than 270 visitors to the Tavern grounds, many for their first time at the Indian King. Many visitors have compared the Indian King experience to a small version of Williamsburg - but unlike Williamsburg, which is just a reconstruction, the Indian King is the real thing - the original building where history occurred.

The days was a great success in raising funds, in introducing new visitors to the Indian King, and for showing the potential of this grand old building. Thank you to everyone who participated and contributed. Who knows, maybe this idea of having beer at a tavern will catch on!

Cheers,

Joe Murphy, President

Friends of the Indian King Tavern

Haddonfield, NJ