JACKSON, Wyo. — For years, Jack Dennis and Dick Cheney cast fly rods on the Snake River in relative anonymity: two old friends enjoying rugged scenery and good conversation with equal relish.
Dennis doesn't expect much to change now that the teenager he met playing American Legion baseball is the vice president-elect of the United States.
"Jackson is different from Aspen," said Dennis, a professional fly fisherman. "Well-known people come here to become part of the community. The people here are rugged individualists who believe in people's space."
That's a point of pride in this resort town of about 8,300, where the likes of Harrison Ford and Connie Stevens have homes and other celebrities come to unwind. President Clinton is among the heads of state to have visited.
Here, Cheney, a Teton County homeowner and former Wyoming congressman, is simply considered another resident.
"It's live and let live, really," said Mayor Barney Oldfield, who characterized a few chance meetings with Cheney over the years as a brief exchange of smiles. "People don't really care what you do."
"When (Cheney's) in town, he comes in with friends all the time. He's very sociable," said Bill Sears, a manager at the Mangy Moose in Teton Village. "It's just a normal restaurant when he's here."
Cheney and his wife, Lynne, have owned a home in Teton County since 1993. Their house, valued at $2.9 million, is in a gated neighborhood that features an Arnold Palmer-designed golf course.
Dennis said Cheney regularly visited Jackson while chief executive officer of Halliburton Co., a giant international oil supply firm based in Dallas, a job the former defense secretary took in 1995.
Fishing was always near the top of the itinerary. "You could have great silences and great conversation," Dennis said. "Fishing with him, it's like being with Larry King . . . He'd talk about Gorbachev, the war with Iraq. It's like history in front of you."
Dennis said he believes Cheney will be able to maintain a level of privacy at Jackson comparable to the one he has enjoyed for years.
"I think you will see a lot of fishing as a way of working through problems and issues," said Dennis, adding that a number of congressmen are also anglers.
Kim Daley, communications manager for the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce, said the town could see a slight increase in tourism because of Cheney's vice presidency. About 3 million people a year visit Jackson, a gateway community to Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks.
"My expectation is that Jackson will become higher profile," said Dean Stayner, who works at the Jackson Hole Book Trader. "I guess it won't be unlike Al Gore. He got his share of coverage."
Oldfield doesn't expect any sort of fuss.
"I don't think we're going to notice he's here," Oldfield said. "I think most of us won't know when he comes and leaves."