Across the River and Into the Bar

COURTESY SUN VALLEY RESORT ARCHIVES

A Toast to Hemingway

BY MIKE MCKENNA

Colonel John “Denny” Pace was one of the most decorated pilots to ever come out of the farm fields of Idaho. He was the first person to fly a jet in the Gem State and flew numerous missions in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.

The Colonel, or “Grandpa” as he was called in my wife’s family, had countless great stories and loved to share them over cocktails on the back deck of his home in Ketchum’s Hulen Meadows. The ski runs of Bald Mountain curved beneath the summer sky in the background.

One of his favorite stories involved Ernest “Papa” Hemingway.

After returning from the Second World War, Denny took a job as a waiter at the Duchin Lounge at the Sun Valley Resort.

Having gone from fighter pilot to slinging drinks, one evening, Denny found himself serving Papa and another writer from the East Coast. There was a minor mishap with their order. The Easterner started to lay into Denny for the mistake. But Hemingway would have none of it.

Papa had gotten to know Denny and had a deep appreciation for his war service. He told the other writer to treat Denny with respect or to get lost. The other writer quickly apologized and left a big tip. While Denny soon went back to doing what he did best, flying planes for the military, Hemingway kept on doing what he did best—writing, hunting, and drinking.

The Colonel was a vodka man, especially in his later years. He lived to be 93 and kept on hiking, traveling, and drinking—all fairly heavily—until his final days. As for what Hemingway’s favorite spirit was, there’s a lot of debate.

COURTESY SUN VALLEY RESORT ARCHIVES

Imbibing was a big part of Hemingway’s persona and his writing. It was such a big part of his life that after he passed, bottles of booze were left up on bookshelves of his home above the Big Wood River in Ketchum, protected by Plexiglass covers. There’s even a terrific book, To Have and Have Another by Philip Greene, covering over 60 cocktails connected with Hemingway.

While wine and drinks like martinis and mojitos are most often associated with Papa, whiskey and soda is what he writes about the most.

Hemingway didn’t write much about Idaho, but he certainly did a decent amount of writing and drinking whenever he was here.

Hemingway didn’t write much about Idaho, but he certainly did a decent amount of writing and drinking whenever he was here. In fact, he only wrote one story of note about Idaho; fittingly, it was called “The Shot.”

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The story isn’t about drinking, but rather about making the perfect shot while hunting in the high desert of southern Idaho. Maybe that’s why Jenny Emery Davidson, the Executive Director of The Community Library in Ketchum, says that the best places to drink like Hemingway in Sun Valley aren’t necessarily in bars.

“I would recommend going where he spent time, like Trail Creek or Silver Creek or even the high desert hunting spots where he loved to hunt like Richfield. He also liked to walk around downtown Ketchum and walk in the hills around town,” Jenny says. “Bring a picnic and your favorite drink to places like Picabo and sit overlooking Silver Creek or swing across Trail Creek and wander into the forest. These are the places where he really was his best self.”

Hemingway was known for calling his close friends in Idaho the “family.” The best parts of any strong family are how we look out for one another and when we celebrate good times together. Colonel Denny Pace could certainly attest that Papa looked out for his Idaho family. When I was first welcomed into the family, Denny did so by handing me a drink, telling me one of his best stories and toasting to Hemingway.

DRINKING LIKE HEMINGWAY IN SUN VALLEY

Ernest Hemingway, winner of the Nobel and Pulitzer Prize, once gave advice about the best way to get to know a community: “Don’t bother with churches, government buildings, or city squares; if you want to know about a culture, spend a night in its bars.”

Sun Valley was one of Hemingway’s favorite places to escape the chaos of life and to focus on what he truly loved most: writing, hunting, and drinking with friends. He first visited Sun Valley in 1939 and ended his life in Ketchum in 1961. Several of the places Papa used to like to imbibe still exist.

The Casino on Main Street in Ketchum looks pretty much the same since Hemingway drank there decades ago. The original log cabin on Main Street in Ketchum was built in the 1920s and is even believed to be haunted by a ghost. Although it’s fairly easy to believe pretty much anything after a few strong cocktails at “The Casbah,” as longtime locals like to call the place.

Michel’s Christiania opened on Sun Valley Road in Ketchum in 1959. Home to the Olympic Bar, The Christy, as it’s called for short, hasn’t changed much since then. Hemingway had his own table as well as his last meal there in 1961.

The Duchin Lounge in the Sun Valley Lodge became known in modern times as the “Wrinkle Room.” Originally dark, cozy, and completely lost in time, it was remodeled in 2015. The new version is much more open and bright, but still offers regular live music and an impressive signature cocktail selection to raise a glass to Papa’s history in Sun Valley.

The Community Library in Ketchum is the hub for all things Hemingway in Sun Valley. They even offer a guide to his haunts and areas of interest in and around the area and host the annual Hemingway Symposium each September.