The spectacle was not an attempt by Anheuser-Busch to get a head-start on next weekend's chariot races, but a celebration of the wedding of Fairlee, Vt., native Kathryn Thatcher to August Busch IV, heir to the Anheuser-Busch empire. The couple chose the Hanover Inn to host their wedding reception, which followed the Bradford, Vt. ceremony.
While the newly-joined families made merry at the Inn, their hired Clydesdales were scheduled to circle the Green in celebration, although witnesses to the event have reported that the animals and their carriage remained stationed on the corner of Wentworth Avenue and Main Street throughout the afternoon.
For about 30 minutes during the reception Hanover Police closed the block of East Wheelock Street between Main Street and the Hopkins Center while guests arrived at the Inn. The gigantic draft horses drew a crowd of locals that accumulated on the southwest corner of the Green, and even Keggy the Keg, Dartmouth's unofficial mascot, joined in on the festivities.
Beyond simply drawing a crowd and livening the typical Saturday afternoon Hanover happenings, the Busch-Thatcher wedding impacted the town's alcohol scene during the week prior to the event.
Hanover bars, as well as restaurants such as Molly's Restaurant, the Canoe Club, Murphy's On the Green and the Hanover Inn, agreed to feature Anheuser-Busch products more prominently before the wedding.
"We brought out a couple extra promotional Budweiser bottles," said Peter Paulin, general manager of Murphy's On the Green. "We added a draft or two."
Paulin made no physical changes to his beer list, he said, and kept his normal, popular drafts just as available to customers as before the Busch family rolled into town.
At other restaurants, however, Budweiser and other Anheuser-Busch products replaced the traditionally popular beers because there was not enough tap space to accommodate the added beverages. Molly's, located on South Main Street, was one such restaurant that temporarily reorganized its beer lineup.
August Busch IV is president of Anheuser-Busch, Inc. His father, August Busch III, is chairman of Anheuser-Busch's board of directors, and their ancestor, Adolphus Busch, began a brewing company with Eberhard Anheuser in 1864.
