Marion Throws a Beer Party

Edit note: This post has been updated.

On July 3, 1913, excitement filled the air as hundreds of local men, women, and children gathered along the banks of the Mississinewa. They were eagerly anticipating an event that would soon become a hot topic of conversation, rivaling even Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show in the public mind.

Changes in liquor laws permitted localities throughout the nation to ban the sale and distribution of alcohol before the adoption of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. These restrictions made it impossible for the brewery to sell its product. Rather than pay taxes on the beer on hand, they decided to dispose of it.

At the appointed hour, the Indiana Brewers Association, located on Lincoln Boulevard, would empty its storage tanks of 1,916 barrels of its finest lager directly into the river.

However, the event took an unexpected turn. The Marion Leader of July 4, 1913, gleefully reported that an army of small boys had gathered near the Washington Street bridge, armed with baseball bats, clubs, oars, and other weapons. They waded into the shallow water and waylaid the fish.

Several thousand pounds of fish were taken from the river, and crawfish by the thousands were seen crawling up the piers of the bridge.

The Marion Police, faced with a large crowd watching the beer being poured into the river, took action to prevent them from filling buckets to take home. In the midst of this, a woman, caught up in the excitement, fell into the rushing suds and was rescued

The fate of the Indiana Brewing Association was in the hands of stockholders who would meet the following week.

(1913, June 4). Drunken Fish are Captured by the Thousands Marion Leader Tribune, 1-2.