Happy Hour Was Especially Happy At The Denver Beer Company Last Saturday

My sister Susan - seen in the photograph above - and I stopped at the Denver Beer Company on South Downing Street here in Denver this past Saturday for a Happy Hour beer, and the atmosphere seemed especially festive. And why not? It was a warm and sunny afternoon, it was the weekend, and the place was filled with people from the neighborhood, including families with kids, seniors, singles, you name it. Plus, there were a fair number of University of Denver students celebrating the end of classes. Not to mention all manner of dogs enjoying an IPA or two with their owners. It reminded Susan of when she used to accompany our mother Mary and father Nelson to a Glenwood, Illinois beer garden in Chicago's Southern Suburbs when she was a little girl. I might or might not have gone to the same place once when I was a kid, but my recollection of that is a little shaky. And no, I was NOT drinking beer there when I was 5 years old or so. Happily, through diligent research (googling the internet) I have determined that the place must have been Hottinger's Garden, which in later years was purchased by none other than Ray Kroch, before he started the McDonald's hamburger chain. Of course, that was long before the advent of craft beer, a period in history I think was called the Dark Ages. Check me on that.