'Papa' Hemingway was there and there and there
Associated PressA Deerfield Beach man is the best of the bunch as 147 compete in the annual look-alike contest at Key West's Hemingway Days.
Published July 25, 2005
KEY WEST - A cream-colored turtleneck sweater, a ruddy complexion and a white beard earned a 61-year-old Florida letter carrier top honors at the "Papa" Hemingway Look-Alike Contest, a highlight event of the 25th annual Hemingway Days festival that ended Sunday.
Entering the event for the 13th time, Bob Doughty of Deerfield Beach beat 146 others Saturday night at Sloppy Joe's Bar - Ernest Hemingway's favorite watering hole when he lived in Key West during the 1930s.
The annual look-alike challenge attracted national and international entrants, dressed in Hemingway-esque safari garb, wool fishermen's turtlenecks and other sporting attire, who attempted to emulate Hemingway's "Papa" persona.
The contest was judged by former winners, including 2004 winner John Stubbings of Kill Devil Hills, N.C.
Doughty said he favors Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea" but has never tried writing. He shares the author's legendary passion for sportfishing and, for 35 years, has been visiting the Florida Keys where Hemingway roamed and wrote.
Hemingway Days' 25th year also included the debut of a museum exhibit showcasing the author's Key West years that is to continue through the remainder of 2005.
Highlighting literary events was the 25th annual Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition, directed by Hemingway's granddaughter, a critically acclaimed author. Naomi Benaron of Tucson, Ariz., earned first place and $1,000 for "The Chemical Nature of Things," detailing the pain and compassion of a young medical student recalling her mother's mental illness.
Lorian Hemingway also introduced Richard Steel Hemingway, who believes he is Ernest Hemingway's illegitimate son, born late in the author's life.
"I've known since the age of 5 that I was supposed to come to Sloppy Joe's in Key West and find a picture of my father," said Steel Hemingway, 44, of Davison, Mich.
Lorian Hemingway believes he is credible.
"I know that Richard is completely sincere and guileless in his quest for his father, and I do believe his father is Ernest Hemingway," she said. "Richard is so determined to have an answer that he is having DNA testing, and a male member of our family is going to give blood for the testing."