Hailey resident Gary Hunt, who died in a one-car accident early Saturday morning, was an iconoclast. It's not a coincidence that he gave his store the name Iconoclast Books.
A true non-conformist, Hunt was a person who encouraged people to think while granting them space to make their own discoveries. A walk through Iconoclast Books gives a glimpse of the man who chose each tome and periodical, and lived among its stacks. Hunt never pandered. He was literature's biggest fan. And in that role, Hunt quietly and subtly raised the intellectual bar of the community.
The late David Halberstam, whom Hunt knew personally, once wrote, "I think he was such a magical figure, so compelling a figure, he inevitably drew the interest of very talented writers." He was speaking about Muhammad Ali, but it could have been Hunt.
Writers from all over the country—including Halberstam, Jim Harrison, Bartle Bull, Anthony Doerr and Susanna Moore—dropped into his stores in Ketchum and Sun Valley.
He was such a book lover, such a raconteur and such an appreciative audience that people who also loved the written word were drawn to him, his intellect, his stores and his world.
Hunt was born in Columbia, Mo., on Nov. 8, 1961. In the early 1990s, he, like so many others, moved to Ketchum to ski. After a couple of years in Seattle, where the book-selling bug caught him, he returned to the Wood River Valley and, in 1994, opened a used bookstore underneath Perry's restaurant in Ketchum.
Iconoclast then moved around. It was in a dinky, run-down house at First Street and First Avenue for several years, where there were raucous poetry slams, knife-throwing contests in the backyard and a 16-millimeter film projector on which Hunt screened classic movies.
For a while, he had the most eclectic collection of videos for rent. There was a cigar humidor and furniture in which to lounge. The store then moved to another old house on First Street, more recently occupied by the day spa Il Sogno. He began selling more new books, expanded the store and finally moved to the historic Griffith Building on Main Street.
In September 2004, he and his wife, Sarah Hedrick, opened a Hailey Iconoclast (which closed in 2007) and in 2005 they bought the bookstore in the Sun Valley Village.
On May 1, 2005, he and Hedrick were married in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and in September she gave birth to a daughter, Penelope, who was a familiar site at Iconoclast trailing after Hunt as his little clone. Late last year, they moved the Ketchum store to a new, commodious space on Sun Valley Road and Spruce Street. With the addition of a café, Hunt's dream of a bookstore/café as a gathering spot where events could be held came to fruition.
During all that time, Hunt became an integral member of the community. Iconoclast gave away countless gift certificates and books as raffle prizes for dozens of fund-raising events for nonprofits.
Through annual book fairs, Hedrick and Hunt supported the libraries at Bellevue and Hailey elementary schools, the Wood River Middle School and The Community School.
Among the boards on which he sat were the Ezra Pound Association, the Sun Valley Center for the Arts, Company of Fools and the Trailing of the Sheep Festival.
He managed a book booth at many of the valley's events, including Trailing of the Sheep in Hailey and Ye Olde Book Shoppe at the Sun Valley Renaissance Faire. Hunt founded the Great Books Book Club at The Community Library in Ketchum, and provided and sold the books for many author visits there.
"He was heavily involved in the Hemingway Festival as well a significant advocate and supporter for that event, like so many others," said Carol Waller, executive director of the Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber & Visitor's Bureau.
"Gary was larger in life than any of the characters in the books he loved," said R.L. Rowsey, of the Company of Fools theater group. "He was involved in everything. He knew about everything. In a valley like this, there needs to be someone to connect the dots. Gary ran from dot to dot. The positive side is that we all have nine billion specific memories to hold on to."
One of Hunt's great joys was his involvement with the Sun Valley Writers' Conference. He ran the temporary bookstore at the back of the tent of the annual event for 11 years, an experience he once called "dazzling—a dream come true."
"He was so deeply involved in so many things," said Kristen Poole, artistic director for the Sun Valley Center for the Arts. "His commitment to the community, it wasn't about him and his ideas—it was about the beauty of ideas.
"I don't know how we fill that hole other than trying to emulate his example. It crept up on us. He slowly revealed himself to us. So peacefully he created this amazing thing, that's way more than the physical place where books are sold."
Black Sparrow Books Publisher David Godine, who visited the store and The Community Library from Boston this past winter, said upon hearing the news of Hunt's death, "This is a sad day for book selling and for the state of Idaho and for the town of Ketchum."
Despite the grief felt, the Ketchum store will stay open seven days a week with revised hours. The Sun Valley store is closed until Memorial Day weekend.
In observance of the memorial service, the store will close Saturday, May 17, at 2 p.m. For the remainder of May, the store will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. On Memorial Day weekend, there will be an On the Edge Bash street party held as a benefit after which Iconoclast will resume regular hours of 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
"It is a fantastic store," Hedrick said. "In the following week, we will have a gathering for those concerned or interested in keeping Iconoclast Books as part of this community."
A memorial service will be held promptly at 4 p.m. Saturday, May 17, at the River Run Lodge, followed by a reception.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Hunt/Hedrick/David Children's Fund, at First Bank of Idaho. It will be solely for the benefit of Penelope, Tillie, Darby and Gray, their housing, food, health and educational needs. For more information, call Kirsten Ritzau at 720-0438, Peggy Baker at 720-0675 or Harriet Bass at 720-3190.
Checks should be made payable to Sarah's sister, Elise Stelling, the account representative for the children, and it should say on the subject line, Hunt/Hedrick/David Children's Fund. To wire or mail funds:
· First Bank of Idaho
ABA or routing number: 124103760
Telegraphic name: FST BK ID KETCHUM
111 Main St.
Ketchum, ID 83340
(208) 725-0330
Account Name: Elise Stelling
Account Number: 100058312
· First Bank of Idaho
Box 9000
Attn: Nancy Moore
Ketchum, ID 83340
Gary Hunt stands amid thousands of books at a former location of his store, Iconoclast Books, on Main Street in Ketchum. Photo by Chris Pilaro
