Although the legendary Betty White is no longer with us, she continues to have an impact on the world in some of the most unusually awesome ways.
One of them started well before her passing in the small town of Mineral Point, Wisconsin. Only 2,600 people call this place their home, but to White, it was the birthplace of one of the most important people around: Allen Ludden, her third and final husband who passed away in 1981.
White was rumored to have visited Mineral Point, but the last known time was at Ludden’s funeral, where he was buried in Graceland Cemetery.
Still, the small town’s connection to such popular celebrities planted a seed of love for the two stars, leading places like Commerce Street Brewery to find fun ways to both celebrate White and prepare for her return if she ever found her way back to her late husband’s hometown.
In addition to creating a beer called Blonde Betty in her honor, patrons used the brewery’s system of buying drinks for friends ahead of time to buy White a beer. That way, had she visited, her drink would have been on them.
The bartender would keep track of how many drinks she had waiting by adding tally marks on a chalkboard under “Betty’s Beers.” That is, until her drink count got too high! She quickly became their most popular recipient, racking up 41 beers by the time she passed away.
But with White’s passing came a resurgence in donations to Betty’s Beers.
“We around town have always thought of Betty as a Pointer by marriage,” said Mike Zupke, owner of the Commerce Street Brewery Hotel. “Betty has 41 beers waiting for her. We decided if people keep buying beers, we will keep taking it and will put the money toward a good animal cause for her.”
In just over a week, the brewery announced that the beer count for White went up from 41 to an outstanding 336 –meaning $1,680 will be donated to local animal shelters!
“Allen Ludden and Betty White is our connection to Hollywood,” said Jason Basting, the mayor of Mineral Point. “For a small town of 2,600 people, it’s pretty neat to have that type of connection. She’s a legend right?”
If you’d like to buy a beer for the late legend yourself, donations will be taken through the end of January and can be given via this website.
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