In some ways, the Jewish Catskills has come full circle. This 21st-century revival is unfolding at places like Scribners Catskill Lodge, a repurposed 1960s motor inn. Noted also in this book is the resort areas importance within American Jewish history. Everybody talks about that one. Are there pictures online or any web links you recommend? The grounds are lush, with clusters of Adirondack chairs, a communal firepit, and long picnic tables. It was mostly a Greek hotel and was thriving during those years. My brother Steve and I spent all of our summers there, from the early 50s until it was sold in 1966. Heres a look at 10 abandoned resorts fromThe Borscht Belt: Grossingers Catskills Resort Hotels claim to fame is an inspiration for the setting of the 1987 filmDirty Dancing,whose fictional locale Kellermans was based ona former resort. It was a wonderful weekend ! So she decided to open it as a hotel, the Mt. I was born in 58 and have amazing early childhood memories of the place and our bungalow. The Community Launch Slideshow 11 PHOTOS Dotted across Sullivan. A bygone time that I am glad to have been a part of and wish my children could have experienced. If you could supply the name of the road, I will definitely take that drive next time Im there! people who see the exhibit and many of them are Borscht Belt Were they the same Rosenbergs that owned the Ulster Lake House. Catskills Historical Resorts & Hotels Resorts & Lodges 84 places to stay Vacation Rentals 2 places to stay Round Top (3) Windham (2) Woodstock (1) Tannersville (1) Kerhonkson (1) Hunter (1) Callicoon (1) Catskill (1) Fleischmanns (1) Greenville (1) Andes (1) Show All Cities All Resort Types Meetings Reunions Wedding All-Inclusive Beach Family Golf What a great time I had up there. Unauthorized use is prohibited. It was called Pullmans. When I would go to my calm place, I would wander down to the lake and to the left where the stream flowed to the damn, there was a really big rock where I would just sit for hours. I would love to get in touch with StephanieI have a photo of the two of us all dressed up that I would love to send her. It was a vacation Some sold to Dinner was a dressy affair. Eco-friendly burial alternatives, explained. Please contact for anything. Again, Linda, thank you so much for responding to my post. I was a counselor at weelock in 67 and 68. doors were locked and weeds started to grow as high as the windows. On a July summers night sitting on the floor of this large barn structure that had a small black and white tv sitting on a high portable AV cart so all could get a glimpse of this historic moment. I was born in 58 and have amazing early childhood memories of the place and our bungalow. Not long after, in the 1970s, the Borscht Belt itself began to decline. I went to take a look at where it once was a few years ago, and it is gone. And somewhere there is an Sunday article with Ma Holder and my mother playing the part of her secretary. hotel night clubs. Borscht, a beet-based soup popular with Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants, was a colloquialism for "Jewish". We were always amazed on how old the graves were. The exhibit at the Yeshiva Museum has Is anyone familiar with my great-grandmother Pauline Wertmans Sunny Hill Farm (bungalows), in Swan Lake/Bethel, where the Sullivan County Airport is now? Hi Joan, Im afraid I dont remember your dad, but Im sure that if my mother was alive, she would. In the era of hippies and rock-and-roll, kitschy summers in the Catskills lost their allure. Nothing replaced the ones that have decomposed, either. Get rates. After I read your email, I googled Arrowhead Ranch and it seems a woman named Rose Barnett purchased the property in 2017, and its now Arrowhead Ranch and Retreat, which is some kind of a music venueand it may not even be the Lake Plaza propety, maybe another hotel. Has anyone considered a book or driving tour of where all of these hotels were and what is there now? life in a lengthy series of poignant pictures by photographer Marisa There is a riveting photo of a guest room at the Tamarack Of course, the resort industry was so big and there were so many hotels and so many visitors, it took a few years for anyone to notice. Please email me at osaintilien55@gmail.com I would gratefully appreciate it. https://www.townofliberty.org/about/history/, Gaslight Village: Lake George Fun Yesterday, Historian Don Rittner Launches New YouTube Series, Weegee the Famous: Paparazzo of the Nameless, Rough And Tumble: A Short History of Eye Gouging, Whitetail Deer & Spreading Invasive Species, Kesselring Atomic Power Labratory: A Short History, Adirondack Logging History: Woods Lake & Beaver River Stations, Woodsman Willard Howland and his Amazing Critters, Anxiety Over Jazz In Ireland Followed A Tragic Shipwreck. My uncle Sheldon is living in Virginia now. In the 1950s and 1960s the Jewish Catskills reached the pinnacle of its history, and starting in the 1970s declined till the point where only a handful of major resorts remain. The lush New York hotels I was a rock musician and I struggled with a Fake Book to play lots of songs I didnt know. The 'extreme cruelty' around the global trade in frog legs, What does cancer smell like? For me, this is 70 years ago. At night, comedians would do their shtick for a well-dressed audience. One of Earth's loneliest volcanoes holds an extraordinary secret. One night he made me sing Getting to Know You with him. Eddie Cantor, Eddie Fischer and Duke Ellington. It was at Camp Weelock that I watched the Apollo 11 mans first mans landing on the moon. These 11 Photos of Utah in the 1960s are Mesmerizing. walls covered with peoples names and graffiti. Photographer Marisa Scheinfelds book The Borscht Belt: Revisiting the Remains of Americas Jewish Vacationland,takes a look at the remains of the Borscht Belt. All of them give you a good sense of What Scribners takes from the old is a sense of community: It has a weekend schedule packed with yoga, garden walks, tie-dye classes, and movie screenings. i was born just about that time and my older brother and I spent a lot of time about six months/year, there. I believe it was called the Liberty House. There are 96 units spread over 120 acres, along with a pool and a game room, where his 90-year-old mother is playing canasta. Thats the way I look at the renaissance of the Catskills.. a Pines room with pink insulation ragged bags hanging down from the Last time I was upstate was in 2018, and I drove up and down the roads in Parksville, but couldnt find the lake, or anything that looked familiar. Summers in the Catskills came to a halt when my grandmother, Sabina, was diagnosed with cancer. Our unit has Turkish kilim rugs and a slate-tiled bathroom. We stayed in one of the outer buildings that time instead of the big main house. Sorry, I dont recall your grandmother. I was a jr. counselor in 67 and 68 at weelock. My brother had his Bar Mitzvah at the Youngs Gap in 1965. I miss it terribly Craig dobelle. As indicated in the article, the New Roxy closed in 1966. I am interested to find out more about the New Roxy in the 1940s/50s etc. Thanks for listening to me blather on. After decades of activity and notable guests, it closed in 1986. If Ive got the right people, please email me at GreenKeyM@aol.com and we can reconnect Frank (happily married, not looking for a new gf, LOL) and Carol. Windsor, Gilberts, Zeigers, Camp Hi-Li -- today look eerily The evening entertainment at these resorts was out of this world, famous comedians and singers. Thanks! Scotts grandfather bought Rosmarins in 1941; when other colonies closed, his father absorbed their clientele. If you have photos can you please send them to at eryan@me.com. hotels were in Ulster or Sullivan Counties). The groundbreaking promise of cellular housekeeping. I know that the era of oid is gone but Im hoping that the Catskills will still be a popular vacation choice for many people for years to come! I was very friendly with their daughter, Stephanie. some weaknesses. Scheinfeld spent her childhood accompanying her grandfather to card games at the once glamorous Concord Resort Hotel, by thenthe 1980salready past its prime. A nightclub and a restaurant are featured at this smoke-free motel. My grandfather was Izzy Woda and my mother was Sylvia. about what it was like to play the nightclubs in the mountain resorts Scheinfeld says. Now we are in Ellenville at Cohens Bakery, established circa 1920, buying pumpernickel bread and chocolate rugelach. She dismisses talk Those were the days! What if we could clean them out? Its really nice to be in touch with you, Joan. Hi Neil, I was just looking checking my DNA on Ancestry and remembered seeing a Ben Feller listed as a 2/3rd cousin. She added a small building with a little stage at one end for theatricals and it was called the Casino for all the card playing. My aunt on the Sanford house bungalow colony in South Fallsburg probably through 76 or 78. How that all came about is a mystery to me. Summer 2020 was like the old days, he says, completely booked, with shouts of Marco! Polo! echoing from the lake. graffiti and, in general, made a colossal mess of a long ago Both my brother and I have been living in Israel for the last 35-40 years. Anyway, thanks for your comments, Neil. A bar, vintage shop, and general store opened to serve a trickle of new visitors that grew into an avalanche as COVID-19 forced New Yorkers to spend their summer holidays close by. With a pool, dance floor, and lounge there was much to do here during the heyday of the Catskills. is ruins, just like European ruins of long ago. One is of the stage at The President Hotel, with Dec. 4, 2015. Is anyone familiar with the Lake Plaza Hotel in Parksville. All rights reserved. So interesting! The visit to the site of the Lake Plaza 16 years ago with our kids was quite a nostalgia trip. I have something that might be of interest to you and your family You mentioned that your Great uncle was Frank Spector? I do remember the taxi and the proud owner of the medallion (cleaning and washing under the trees to the left of the driveway but near the roadway. Pines is still there in one photo, but with its fancy entry doors all We went every Monday to Middletown or Monticello for groceries. It was then reincarnated as the Green Acres Hotel for a short time, and that was purchased by New Hope in the early 1970s. It was said That the Catskills was hotter than putting present day las.vegas and Atlantic city together. It was run by Anita Schneider, who was I think, the Holtzmans daughter. Plus my great-aunt Gertie married into the Paul family, of Pauls Hotel. Once it was the sparkling center of Jewish summers, replete with glamorous hotels and thriving small towns. Shirley passed in 2005 after a very long illness (cancer) Ida lived til almost her 90s in 1990. I even had a promotional deck of playing cards with Bob and Doris on the back. I think I backed up your mother as an organist at a Bungalow Colony. I am in touch with Allison Belkin (Allison Gottlieb Belkin) on Facebook. Two boys Burt and Ronnie. Now I have the name of the road for the next trip. Mr. Chadwick can be reached at bchadwick@njcu.edu. Its indoor swimming pool, which has transformed into a lush greenhouse over the years, is a destination for adventurers. Do you know the exact location? It was a nice but relatively small place. tableau and they are big. People lost interest in the Borscht Belt for a number of reasons, but the decline was due in large part to the boom in the airline industry, as the possibility of exotic getaways lessened visitors desire to return to the Catskills for vacation. cemetery. Just came across this note. Hi, Mitch. The hotel was simply known as the "Nevele" until . Very interesting writing what happened to Geronimo. Hi John my family owned the Youngs gap hotel did u know my great grandma Anne holder and my great aunt& uncle Dotty & Frank Spector? As time marches on families stopped getting together at Shustons as we all went on to college (we out of state), military, and family passed away. I do remember my Great Aunt telling a story of how she was friendly with Jenny Grossinger as they were about the same age. It is a victim of a lot of things, but mainly, I think, as the Bible Property Size 3,840 SF. mountains and you see this exhibit, get out the Kleenex. My sister and I spent many summers there with our dad. Scientists just confirmed a 30-foot void first detected inside the monument years ago. My father perfomed (sang) every now and then on stage. After World War II, my grandparentsrefugees from Polandmoved to the Bronx, started a family, and settled into this new tradition. Many establishments had already invested capital they didnt have in trying to keep up with the larger hotels in the increasingly competitive Catskills tourism market. Something new is growing out of the old, she says. I have a terrific picture of your grandfather Moe with my mother and father Sylvia and Ben Bartels at the Gap. It sat along a railroad track near a general store where she and her brothers would buy candy. I remember the Commodore from my many visits there in the 50s with my cousin Sam he was friendly with your Uncle. turned over couches and chairs, with drape rods falling from the Do you remember the layout of the property. Resort Worlds Catskill in Monticello, on the site of the former Concord Hotel. There is a single But oops that wasnt happening after awhile. I wont go in to detail of buying beer at 13 in Maltz General Store in Alligerville for 99 cents. The Overlook had entertainment and summer lodging through the late 1960s and was operated by the Schrier family. We drive down rural streets until, at a small intersection, we find a building my mom recognizes and a clerk who remembers that a train once ran nearby. Looking for respite from city life, New Yorkers would head to. The pictures are near movie poster size Someone might have taped former Catskills comics talking and hotel basketball team all-star. anyone know about Holtzmanns Bungalow Colony in Lake Huntington? In the summer of 60, Hitchcocks Psycho debuted in a theater in Liberty and the whole group of adults went. If you look for Allison on FB, Im sure youll find reference to her sister Stephanie. Good thing! By I definitely remember Mike I think he showed us a frog dissection near the pool! 5207 Route 32, Catskill, NY, 12414. Does this remind you of your childhood? I ask her. The Pines Hotel in South Fallsburg, New York was built in 1933 and was a popular destination for those who enjoyed winter sports, as it had its own ice skating rink and was a favorite spot for. A mans world? I think youre right about the road ending there. Do you know where I can find any info pictures amount of suites and units? From the 1920s through the '60s, hundreds of thousands of American Jews flocked to the great hotels, bungalow . Their names were Belle Fox (grandmother) and Maurice Silverman. been snatched way by someone. Would be nice. in another. 424 High Falls Road Extension, Catskill, NY, 12414. My father didnt love the 24/7 demands of the hotel biz and sold out to the Blumbergs to return to the fuel business. Does anyone remember a resort owned by the Rosenbergs During the fifties or Shustons resort in Livingston manor? Very similar story! Is Burt still with us? Ellen , I have a brochure of Swan Lake Hotel. that was the last summer for woods hotel. It was 24 hours a day of fun! While highly interesting, the exhibit might have An outside photographer Thanks for your insights on the Kennedy slide have not heard of that. I have heard stories about Loch Sheldrake and the area and believe that my great-grandfather Jacob Silverman is buried in a Jewish cemetery in Napanoch or Warburg. a musicians music stand from the orchestra sitting crooked in the You can write to her there. Was Shuston Resort around Livingston Manor. Attendance dwindled as foreign travel became easier and hotel bans on Jews disappeared in the sixties. probably could never have done the exhibit. Oh, if you ever get there again, the name of the road is Cooley Road. Trying to find some evidence of it on Google Earth. Marilyn, I am Shirleys granddaughter. She went from affluent to financially challenged. She got into all Laurels Hotel and Country Club, Sackett Lake, Monticello, N.Y. like the ruins of Pompeii. It might help two or three hotels, but thats it, and recently My parents met at the Commodore in 1944(I think) where my mother was a singer and my fathers uncle owned the hotel. Jerry Lewis invented routines there and My family went to Bob-Eds in the late 1960s, so it was interesting to see your post. The area had attracted tourists since the post-Civil War years . carrying vacationers to Florida and the Caribbean in the 1960s. Hi Joan, My name is Linda Amar, maiden name Linda Leibowitz. Its a very gratifying business, Scott says, steering the golf cart past a CEO working from his laptop on a porch and two elderly women chatting in lawn chairs outside their bungalows. I have a giant box of family photos that I am planning on going through with my sisters when this pandemic lets us get together. My parents loved Jerry Lewis. Thanks so much for your response and all the info you have shared with me. Your perceptions aside, it is a demonstrable fact the economy of the Sullivan County Catskills began to decline as early as 1958. I was fortunate to have stayed at 3 bungalow colonies in Accord. My dad is gone, and my sister is five years younger and doesnt remember much either. Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel was a resort in the Catskill Mountains in the Town of Liberty, near the village of Liberty, New York. Although the Sullivan County Hotel Association maintained that despite some attrition among obsolete hotels, the resort industry was in excellent shape, it was apparent that the heyday had passed. The Makowsky Family will always have a special place in my heart. Founded in 1960 in Provo, Utah, Revere Health has grown to include 30 medical specialties in over 100 . Summers at the areas bungalow colonies meant sleeping in tiny cottages and spending the days in a pool or lake and the clubhouse. Please share more memories. My brother and I talk about the good times we had at these extended family trips. I had my Bar Mitzvah in 1964 at Sam and Shirley Schwilawitzs (sic) New Normandie Hotel, down the road from Browns. The Borscht Belt resorts reached their peak in the 1950s and 60s, accommodating up to 150,000 guests a year. Who can ever forget the Borscht The main house was on a hill and there were steps up to it from the road. Thanks Evan Barnett, Does anyone know the address of the holiday hotel in loch sheldrake ny ? The barn is gone but the silo still stands. In the 1950s and 1960s the Jewish Catskills reached the pinnacle of its history, and starting in the 1970s declined till the point where only a handful of major resorts remain. When I was a bit older your father (if he still had the bar concession) was nice enough to serve without asking for ID (remember a long time ago and he knew of me from my Mothers family) the degrees of contact get closer. Looking for respite from city life, New Yorkers would head to theBorscht Belt to sunbathe, swim, dance, and dine during the summer months, and the resort area soon became known as a Jewish vacationland. My mother does not remember who owned the hotel in the family. I think there were 2 row boats. There are photos of many of the stars who became famous at the In 1969 I became a staff member at The Commodore & started in the Kids dining room & wound up as a busboy in the Main. basketball phenom Wilt Chamberlain, all 7 of him, was a bellboy Subscribe! And the cold water running on your feetJust the best!!!! the casino business has been failing, she said. We were pretty close to the festival and heard it was going to be happening. I did Always nice to communicate with someone who has some of the same memories of a time that has been practically erased. My father had been in another line of business propane, sold out and then helped the Blumbergs convert The New Roxy into Green Acres after the original Green Acres in Lake Huntington burned down from a lightning strike. September 9, 2014 by John Conway 109 Comments. My experience up in the Catskills started in 1965 And has continued to last. If I was in Parksville I wouldnt even begin to know where to look for it. Young urban families are snapping up units at the few remaining bungalow colonies, lured by old-fashioned communal living. Birds have I have family photos that show the buildings, and I confirmed that was the place many years ago by comparing to a photo that was once on line, however, i can no longer find anything about the history of the place. We were all close at various times over the years that included Haika (and her family and numerous visits to her apartment in the Bronx and her family members), Lena (my grandfathers second wife and her family members), Sam and Sally my sister Myrna and I grew up with Ronnie and Burt and lived through both tragedies, and the other Woda sons including Harry and his family (perhaps his daughter Sherries it the one mentioned above) as well as Ben (and aunt Shirley worked at Wodas for many years). What no one realized, though, was that Discover the citys most unique and surprising places and events for the curious mind. The New Roxy had closed in mid-August that summer, the latest in a long list of casualties among the medium-sized hotels in the Catskills, hotels accommodating 200 to 700 guests, Bigart noted. One of her favorite photographs in it shows a green fern pushing through the cracked concrete of a long-abandoned pool. He is my grandfathers grandson (father Ben and his mom was Shirley). Interestingly, my grandmothers family said you will not marry a Jewish singer and/or singing waiter and then they eloped! I am just hoping to find photos of it, or any information that can point me in the right direction, Thanks! Do you remember the ballroom-dancing Belkins? Its a few years old so not sure if it is still active. I recently took a trip back home and revisited many things from my childhoodone being our apartment in Alley Pond. You shudder when you see some of the There should have been a number of tables, or cases, full of If you ever vacationed in the Be well and safe. Bats and agaves make tequila possibleand theyre both at risk, This empress was the most dangerous woman in Rome. Catskills, or brought their fame with them. I remember the lake (an rowing) across the the road and a stream through the woods below the lake. The director was ken tewell. This is exactly how it was., You can ask anyone that grew up going to a bungalow colony, Scott says. It seems they became quite famous. Im sure we must have known you. The Grossingers were Austrian immigrants who opened a farmhouse in 1914 and quickly gained a reputation for their cooking and hospitality. Hotels like the world famous concord was a must for many people into the 1980s. might have been easy to obtain old home movies of what the resorts Do you know what happened to the Kranas Family (Shirley is the daughter) who owned the Leroy Hotel in Loch Sheldrake? Does anyone have information about the Rainbow Lodge? I spent summers at Wodas with my mother (and have photos from the war years when we stayed upstate to be safe) as well as working there from the 1950s until I started medical school in 1962. My family went to Bob-Ed from the late 50s to 65. Home-grown Borscht Belt entertainment provided America with a rich supply of comedians, musicians and performers. Her family forbid her to marry a singer so they eloped.