The Collegian

Issue date: 3/12/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Joel Pavelski Dan York serves beer and conversation at The Porch, his home bar on Manning Street.

Media Credit: Joel Pavelski York only allows students over 21 to drink in his home.

Media Credit: Joel Pavelski A kegerator of Leinenkugel's beer is always tapped in York's bar.

Between College Baptist Church and the Sigma Chi fraternity house, at 195 North Manning St. sits The Porch. The local house-pub is a popular hangout for professors and a few privileged students. Founded eight years ago by Associate Professor of Biology Dan York, the pub sits in a side room of his big, brick Victorian home.

"It's the best bar in town," York said. "The beer is free, you can't beat that."

Every Friday night, people come and go. On a good night, 40 people show up. Other times, a few regulars sit around the room with friends and a cold drink.

An eclectic collection of faculty consider themselves Porch regulars, from theatre professors James Brandon and Michael Beyer to the 88-year-old President's Club member Art Young.

"It's my saving grace in this town," Beyer said. "If I'm in town and it's Friday, I'm there."

Senior Lydia Melancon, who's attended a few parties at The Porch, said that she likes to visit for the chance to interact with her professors outside of class.

"It's great to see professors in a more informal setting, when you're able to get to know them without this big awkward barrier," she said.



Visiting The Porch

The Porch is a small, attractive room next to York's garage. Exposed brick walls showcase antique beer posters and artwork. Across from the chairs arranged around a warm wood stove sits the saloon style bar, which houses a kegerator and small refrigerator.

"A kegerator is one of those things that you look back on and think, 'how did I ever live without this?'" York says. "You have a kegerator and people will come."

The room is dimly lit and occupied by a few students, professors and middle-aged townspeople when the visitor arrives. The underage visitor is offered a Diet Coke. Shortly after, he's engaged in a discussion of theatre theory with a professor.

"It's something I'm strict about," York says. "If you're under 21, stick with the Coke and don't blow it for the rest of us."

It's not really about drinking, though, York says. It's a social event and a heck of a lot cheaper than the Hunt Club.

Besides, he explains, students need a good example of how to drink in public. You can drink in moderation at social events, and not drink to get drunk, he says. In fact, to get drunk at The Porch is kind of uncool.

For the faculty, The Porch meets a need, York explains. He says he'd love to build a real bar, but doesn't have the time or energy right now.

"There's nowhere else you can go and just relax," he says.



Origins of The Porch

York began throwing parties almost eight years ago. His house has a large wrap-around porch that people would sit on outside and talk. After his friend Keith Reider, the original owner of Oakley!, sold York the kegerator, The Porch was solidified as a happening hang-out spot.

"Keith would ask people coming into Oakley's if they had ever been to York's porch," York said, "and so people just kept showing up saying that Keith sent us over here and said there were things going on."

It proved to be a shrewd business move for Reider. According to York, The Porch started going through two kegs of Leinenkugel's beer a week, for which it became well-known. So well known, in fact, that one night the Artesian Wells Sports Bar in Cement City, Mich., was desperately trying to get in contact with York. They ran out of Leinenkugel's and wanted to borrow a keg.

"That was a number of years ago, and things have mellowed out since then," York said.

Beyer said he's been going to the porch since his first weekend in town, in June 2004.

"It's introduced me to the majority of my friends here," he said, "and it may have kept me here this long."

Several students have had the privilege of being invited to The Porch. Melancon, a biology major, remembers a night at The Porch when one of her professors started to "groove out" to a popular song behind the bar.

"She got me to groove out because she was grooving so energetically," Melancon said. "I had never grooved with one of my professors before."

York hosts a party for the Biology honorary Beta Beta Beta every semester, and has invited Delta Tau Delta fraternity members over on several occasions.

In fact, it's because of his affection for the men of DTD that he's considering selling them his house. Although, as York said, "everything is informal right now," some of the fraternity's alumni are potentially interested in purchasing the house, either to make it the fraternity's home or to rent it out to them until they're able to build their own.

"I really like a lot of the [DTD] guys," York said. "I would not consider selling them the house if I didn't know them fairly well. I've put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this house."

Beyer said that the loss of The Porch would sadden him.

"I don't really even want to think about it," he said. "The atmosphere of that room is something that can never be replicated. The camaraderie wouldn't end, but that room has so much special memories and warmth."

York has been renovating a little grey house across Fayette Street from The Porch and toying with the idea of moving his hang-out spot into a room there.

"At this point it's just me and my dog and 4,000 square feet, which is way too much for me," he said.

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