Chris Cuellar

ccuellar@dmreg.com

The first bottles of Budweiser that Ed “Doc” Cunningham sold at the Iowa State Fair were 25 cents.

Raising a glass to say “cheers” to the founder of the famous Bud Tent will cost more than that this summer, but longtime fairgoers should be doing it in droves.

Cunningham died Saturday in Des Moines at 93, just shy of 70 years after he started selling cold beer and becoming part fixture, part legend in fairground lore.

Born in Cresco, Cunningham began his beer run in 1946 when he returned from World War II and his father Lloyd was secretary of the Iowa State Fair.

Doc and some friends from Iowa State set up shop between the Varied Industries and administration buildings in 1947, moving to its current location just off the main concourse and Midway in 1978.

In a 1996 story by the Register chronicling his 50th year at the fair, Cunningham said he had missed just two days of fair duty in his ice-cold career. Patrons were credited with the Bud Tent name in the 1960s as the stand sold exclusively Budweiser on the hot summer days.

“Don’t give an American beer drinker a half-cold beer,” Cunningham said at the 1996 event. “If you can’t afford the ice, don’t sell it.”

The popular corner stop is now a third-generation business. Grandson Mike Cunningham II serves thirsty fairgoers as owner and operator.

Customers have included many of the Iowa State Fair’s entertainment acts and even the president of the United States. Four sitting presidents visited the fair during Doc Cunningham’s run: Dwight Eisenhower with Herbert Hoover in 1954, Gerald Ford in 1975, George W. Bush in 2002 and most recently (and perhaps infamously) Barack Obama in 2012.

Family, friends and fans shared their condolences on Sunday and Monday for Cunningham, a veterinarian and Cyclone fan best known for bringing cold beer to the Iowa State Fair.

A visitation is scheduled from 3-5 p.m. on Sunday at Iles Westover Chapel in Des Moines.