2-Time Loser Wins Hemingway Contest

The third time proved to be the charm for a Longboat Key man who won top honors Sunday in the Ernest Hemingway Look-Alike Contest, part of Key West’s 10th annual tribute to the Nobel Prize-winning author.

Fred Burnham, competing for a third consecutive year, attributed the victory to his having raised a shaggy, gray beard reminiscent of the late novelist’s.

“The first year I didn’t even qualify (for the finals),” said Burnham, who owns a construction cleanup firm. “But the comaraderie and good times kept me coming back.”

The 63 Hemingway look-alikes, from as far away as Santa Rosa, Calif., competed “head to head” for three days at Sloppy Joe’s, which bills itself as Hemingway’s favorite bar on Key West.

While living on Key West in the 1930s, Hemingway produced some of his most famous works, including “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “A Farewell to Arms,” “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” and “Green Hills of Africa.”

To honor Hemingway’s literary genius, each year the festival includes a short story writing competition. “If You Can Hear This,” by Pamela Ball, of Tallahassee, this year took top honors out of 620 entries.