Hunter S. Thompson Family Returns Stolen Antlers to Hemingway Home
In 1964, gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson visited Ernest Hemingway's last home in Ketchum, Idaho, where the novelist had shot himself three years earlier. Thompson was working on an essay, titled "What Lured Hemmingway to Ketchum," investigating the draw of Idaho on Hemingway toward the end of his life. The young Thompson, however, "got caught up in the moment" according to his widow, Anita Thompson, and stole a set of elk antlers that hung over Hemingway's front door.
It was a decision that Thompson would later regret. Anita said that he was "very embarrassed" by his actions. The two made some tentative plans to quietly return the antlers, but never quite got around to it. In the meantime, the antlers hung for 53 years in Thompson's garage at his home in Woody Creek, Colorado.
Fast forward to 2016, with Thompson himself dead for the past eleven years from a self-inflicted gun wound. Anita Thompson decided this past week to finally return the elk antlers to the Hemingway home. Anita got in touch with the Hemingway family, then delivered the antlers back to the Hemingway home in Ketchum, which is now owned by The Nature Conservancy. The Hemingway family had "heard rumors" about the antlers' disappearance and were pleased to have them back.
An Instagram photo from The Aspen Times in Ketchum shows the happy reunion:
