A red neck at the zoo: Bankers' Cuba tour hits Hemingway haunts

By John Rice
Forest Park Review/

"I wanted to study Cuban cigars, Cuban rum and Hemingway, in that order," Forest Park National Bank President Jerry Vainisi said of his eight-day trip to Cuba in January. "I also wanted to see Cuba in its unspoiled state before it opens up to tourism." Vainisi found the cigars pricey, $15-20 dollars apiece, with others costing upwards of $200, but "they were smooth, with no bitter aftertaste."

Vainisi and fellow-banker Don Offermann were part of a contingent of 10 who visited the island. Offermann, who has a Ph.D in English and is a former superintendent of Oak Park and River Forest High School, had a particular interest in Cuba's connection to Ernest Hemingway. As Vainisi put it, "Don had a childlike enthusiasm for Hemingway."

Offermann brought a treasured gift to the Cuban people, who revere the author from Oak Park. "I presented Hemingway's high school writings," he said, "to the head of the Hemingway Committee of Cuba." The collection consisted of 15,000 words. "Three of the short stories showed the nascent Hemingway," Offermann said.

"Kids come to OPRF from all over the world," Offermann said. "They're all familiar with Hemingway. He's the most widely-read American author because he wrote in simple declarative sentences."

Like Offermann, several in the group were members of the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park. They were anxious to see the place where Hemingway kept a home from 1939 to 1960. The organizer of the trip was Scott Schwar, who had obtained the necessary license to guide a study group. In keeping with that spirit, they saw much more than the inside of nightclubs and hotels.

"Americans are not permitted to visit Cuba as tourists," Offermann explained. "There has to be an educational component to the trip." In fact he wrote a report about his journey. Their guide, Alicia, was a college graduate who taught English. Among the highlights of the trip were visits to the National Ballet of Cuba and various art museums. They also met with an economic minister and a retired justice from Cuba's Supreme Court.

When they landed in Havana, however, Offermann was struck most by the sight of "Easter egg"-colored cars from the 1950s. "It made me feel like I was in high school again. My first car was a 1955 Ford."

Vainisi also got a kick out of the vintage cars, which came in shades of pink, purple, and orange. "I saw more Studebakers and Edsels than I ever saw in the United States," he said.  More >>