Monday's fire in downtown Ketchum didn't just burn buildings. It took nearly the last physical remnants of a colorful history that included gambling, Ernest Hemingway and the birth of the nation's first ski resort.

"People will be in deep mourning for the historical landmarks we've lost," said Sandra Hofferber, regional history librarian of the Community Library in Ketchum.

"People grew up with these buildings, and they were part of the town that hasn't been redone," she said. "The whole face of Ketchum will change because they won't be built back the way they were. They'll be built according to modern tastes. It really is the end of an era."

The fire started in an empty building once occupied by Dirty Little Roddy's on Ketchum's Main Street, and then spread to Whiskey Jacques' bar. The Sawtooth Club, one of the community's most storied spaces, sustained heavy damage.

Whiskey Jacques and the Sawtooth Club, Hofferber said, predated the construction of Sun Valley as America's first ski resort in the 1930s. The Sawtooth Club, which operated under that name for more than 50 years, was a post office in the 1920s. Whiskey Jacques was once the Alpine Club, another downtown institution.

Both were haunts of late author Ernest Hemingway.

"When he and his friends wanted to go into town, they usually went to the Alpine Club," Hofferber said. "The distinction between bars and restaurants was fairly blurred here then. If you were here at dinnertime, it was a restaurant. After dinner, it was a bar."

Boisean Carrol Valentine, who died in 2002, told a story about being asked to move from a table at the Alpine. When he asked why, he was told it was reserved. He found out why when Hemingway came in and sat down there. A few minutes later, the writer sent Valentine a drink and tipped his hat to him to say thanks.

Gambling was legal in Idaho from 1947 to 1953 - but hung on a bit longer in Ketchum.

"They weren't supposed to have gambling equipment after '53, but they found ways around it," Hofferber said. "They'd hide the good gambling equipment and let the authorities raid the broken equipment. After they'd gone, they'd get it back out. So gambling still had a toehold in the downtown bars even after it was illegal."

Teddie Daley, director of the Blaine County Historical Museum, used to be on the Sawtooth Club bowling team.

"The Sawtooth and the Alpine were longtime institutions," she said. "They were always busy. Now it's all art galleries and real estate offices, so this is truly the end of an era. That fire will leave a big hole in our downtown."

Tim Woodward: 377-6409