Walt Sehnert's story about "Papa" Hemingway brought back close-to-home memories for Virginia (Huff) Schaffert, a former resident of McCook who now lives in Culbertson.

During World War II, Virginia's parents, Carl and Clara Huff, rented a basement apartment to a couple originally from Ketchum, Id-aho: Major George Whitlock and his wife, Puck. The young married couple was in McCook while Maj. Whitlock received training at the McCook Army Air Base.

After leaving here, Maj. Whitlock went on active duty and lost his life while serving his country. Later, the young widow -- who Virginia remembers as tall and attractive -- became part of the Hemingway family when she married Jack Hemingway, one of Ernest "Papa" Hemingway's sons.

Jack and Puck had three daughters: Joan (nicknamed "Muffet"), Margaux and Mariel.

Puck died in 1988. Six years later, her daughter, Margaux, died at age 41 from an overdose of barbiturates.

Puck's husband, Jack Hemingway, died in December of 2000. He was a conservationist who spent his adult life hunting and fishing in Idaho. As a toddler, Jack was the "Bumby" of his father's expatriate years in Paris. His father recounted some of Jack's early life in "A Moveable Feast."

Virginia knows of no other name for "Puck" than "Puck." "That's what we always called her." In recent years, Virginia has made several unsuccessful attempts to get in touch with Puck's surviving daughters: Muffet and Mariel. "I have a picture of their mother that I thought they might like to have."

Hemingway's life surely was "A Moveable Feast," touching many parts of the world. Even McCook had a part in the saga, as a war widow who once lived here married one of Hemingway's sons. If you should ever happen to cross paths with one of the Hemingway daughters, tell them that their mother is still remembered here, and her landlord's daughter even has a picture to prove it.

Much Ado About Something

No one in McCook knows for sure what the government was transporting, but the staff at Curly Olney's Inc. has first-hand knowledge that something important was being carried by U.S.-licensed vehicles which made an unscheduled repair stop in McCook last Monday night and Tuesday morning.

Harry Marks, the service manager at Curly Olney's, was the first to learn of the government transport group's troubles.

"I received a call Monday evening asking if the government could place their vehicles in the secured lot at Curly Olney's. I said yes, and later that night, close to midnight, I met the government group at the lot to let them in and secure the facility."

There were three vehicles, all with U.S. government licenses and large antennas. Except for the licenses, there were no other markings. The vehicles included a semi with an enclosed van trailer, plus Ford and diesel vehicles equipped with antennas.

Upon arriving at work Tuesday morning, Harry's first task was to trouble shoot what the semi truck's problem was. He tracked the trouble quickly: "A computer was out," he said.

Normally, Harry would set about the task of fixing the problem. But not this time. Once the government group learned what the problem was, they summoned their own people, who came in to do the computer repairs. Soon after arriving, the government technicians had the problem fixed, and the government group was on its way by noon Tuesday.

What was the government transporting and why was everything so hush-hush? No one locally knows for sure, although it was learned that the shipment came out of Amarillo, Texas, and was headed north on U.S. Highway 83.

Something nuclear, a warhead, or some other strategic military purpose? We will probably never know, but we do know McCook had a hand in getting the government's secured transportation fleet back on track.