COURTESY SUN VALLEY RESORT ARCHIVES
Across the River and Into the Bar A Toast to Hemingway
for his war service. He told the other writer to treat Denny with Colonel John “Denny” Pace was one of the most decorated respect or to get lost. The other writer quickly apologized and left pilots to ever come out of the farm fields of Idaho. He was the first a big tip. While Denny soon went back to doing what he did best, person to fly a jet in the Gem State and flew numerous missions in flying planes for the military, Hemingway kept on doing what World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. he did best—writing, hunting, and The Colonel, or “Grandpa” as he drinking. was called in my wife’s family, had The Colonel was a vodka man, countless great stories and loved to especially in his later years. He lived share them over cocktails on the to be 93 and kept on hiking, traveling, back deck of his home in Ketchum’s and drinking—all fairly heavily—until Hulen Meadows. The ski runs of his final days. As for what HemingBald Mountain curved beneath the way’s favorite spirit was, there’s a lot summer sky in the background. of debate. One of his favorite stories inImbibing was a big part of Hemingvolved Ernest “Papa” Hemingway. way’s persona and his writing. It was After returning from the Second such a big part of his life that after he World War, Denny took a job as a passed, bottles of booze were left up on waiter at the Duchin Lounge at the bookshelves of his home above the Big Sun Valley Resort. Wood River in Ketchum, protected by COURTESY SUN VALLEY RESORT ARCHIVES Having gone from fighter pilot Plexiglass covers. There’s even a terrific to slinging drinks, one evening, Denny found himself serving book, To Have and Have Another by Philip Greene, covering over Papa and another writer from the East Coast. There was a minor 60 cocktails connected with Hemingway. mishap with their order. The Easterner started to lay into Denny While wine and drinks like martinis and mojitos are most for the mistake. But Hemingway would have none of it. often associated with Papa, whiskey and soda is what he writes Papa had gotten to know Denny and had a deep appreciation about the most. BY MIKE MCKENNA
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