When a longtime local passes on, the community that grew up along with them gathers to pay their respects. Such was the case last Saturday afternoon when hundreds of seasoned locals turned up at St. Thomas Episcopal Church to say goodbye to Paula Baravetto. The actual count has been suppressed so that no one would really know how much the county fire code was threatened. The turnout was just a sampling of the many lives that Paula touched.
She was laid to rest in the Ketchum Cemetery in a private ceremony for the family and then a reception was held in her honor at the Bigwood Golf Course clubhouse immediately afterwards. There, the stories began from the people who knew her over the years.
Paula originally arrived in 1968, as many of the guests had as well. It was a simpler time then. Nobody had any money, everybody partied and looked out for one another.
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Soon, names of old haunts were being bandied about as slides of Paula at various stages of her life were being shown. Names like the Colonel's Restaurant, the Camp Robber, the Tram, the Alpine, the 311 Club, the Crazy Horse Saloon, Mulvaney's, Slavey's, the Holiday Inn, Harding's Trail Inn and the Western Cafe in the north part of the valley. In the south, there were Sam's Club, Kyle's, the Zanzibar, the Mint (original one), the Copper Basin and the Rialto. The stories were hilarious and memorable and we all wondered how we had all made it this far.
It was a time of innocence and frivolity—a time of hopes and dreams and love. We remember it all fondly from the softball games to parties in the canyons. It was our valley and we loved it so. Just like Paula did. Rest easy, my friend.
Nice talking to you.
