The spirit of these old-school Catskills resorts is alive and well at the 1960s-era Catskill Mountain Lodge, despite new ownership. Legions of young men and women used the Catskills as a springboard to successful careers and marriages. The pictures are near movie poster size I remember the lake (an rowing) across the the road and a stream through the woods below the lake. For one thing, a fire at the Prospect Inn in Parksville on August 11, 1965 resulted in the death of five people, and caused a clamor to tighten up fire codes for resorts, many of which could not afford to make the necessary improvements. Scheinfeld is spectacular. Not sure how this system works but I am responding to Phil the Zaldin name is familiar and I will ask my cousin Burt who is very much alive and in his mid 7s (our birthdays are on day apart but I am 4 years older). lot of Borscht Belt memorabilia in a nice wall length exhibit outside One member of the family also operated the Olympic in Fallsburg/Woodridge. minority. A singular hush, betrayed only by the occasional romping of crickets or the stomping of a stray hen on the greensward, fell this Labor Day weekend on the rococo precincts of the New Roxy Hotel, Bigart wrote. I was a counselor at weelock in 67 and 68. My parents loved Jerry Lewis. my brother and i both worked the summer of 1965 at the hotel. entertainment worlds decaying treasure chest, have been brought to They beam, said the If you have photos can you please send them to at eryan@me.com. I had a big crush on her even as a youngster. I remember there was a large main house for meals and shows. Mays property was about 80 acres and included a very old two story stone barn. from just about all U.S. hotels in the 1920s, so hundreds of them At least in the 1940s. Nothing replaced the ones that have decomposed, either. The ruins of the Catskills, the Your email address will not be published. Also trying to find the Belkins, who used to be the dance team at the hotel. Interestingly, my grandmothers family said you will not marry a Jewish singer and/or singing waiter and then they eloped! Year Built 1998. The hotels and summer camps of the area provided jobs to thousands of college students who relied on their wages and tips to finance the education that would catapult them (or so they hoped) into the higher reaches of American society. my mother mickey rothstein was lena rothsteins daughter. was a lumber industry enclave throughout most of the nineteenth century and then the tanning business took over. In the era of hippies and rock-and-roll, kitschy summers in the Catskills lost their allure. When I moved to Kerhonkson in 1990 and joined Kerhonkson Synagogue he was the community elder. Blissful escapes to the mountains of New York became the stuff of legend in many Jewish families. cemetery. and their vacationers looked like when the Borscht Belt was at its If you ever vacationed in the midtown Manhattan at 15 W. 16th Street. was started. I think that was the name of the store wed walk to every now and then to get candy. 5207 Route 32, Catskill, NY, 12414. Whatever did happen to the Catskills, 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 My mom used to take us to visit Sam and Pearl and Myrna and Laura. People have looted Hotel history. Do you remember my grandmother,she was the main cook. Most of the 18 units had been neglected for decades; eight are renovated now. Is anyone familiar with my great-grandmother Pauline Wertmans Sunny Hill Farm (bungalows), in Swan Lake/Bethel, where the Sullivan County Airport is now? By the end of the forties, May was in debt not sure if she didnt know how to handle it but I tend to think that as the war ended the economics of going to the Catskills was changing and she had taken out loans for those improvements to the property. Hope World Resorts Catskills can thrive!! Anyone know where the Woodbine Hotel was located, exactly? 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. gone. All of the stools for I would be happy to connect with Burt. Stagedoor Manor is located at what used to be the Hotel Karmel, and is on what is still known as Karmel Road. 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. And then you walk into the With a pool, dance floor, and lounge there was much to do here during the heyday of the Catskills. The Best Hotels in New York . And yet these days most historians agree that the Golden Age of Sullivan Countys tourism industry, which began around 1940, came to an end around 1965, and they cite a number of reasons for choosing that particular year. Not long after, in the 1970s, the Borscht Belt itself began to decline. Starlite Motel. 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 grandfather was Izzy Woda and my mother was Sylvia. decaying. Filed Under: History, Hudson Valley - Catskills Tagged With: Architecture, Catskills, Cultural History, Historic Preservation, Jewish History, Performing Arts, Sullivan County, Tourism. The Borscht Belt Resort, located in the Catskills in New York, was once a major vacation destination from the 1920s to the 1960s. My great grandparents moved a Ellenville in the 20s and my whole family grew up there. It looks just like it did in 1969 when I started going there. from the Roaring Twenties to the 1980s? I remember the lake. floor where the old orchestra seats used to sit. The roughly 5,000-year-old human remains were found in graves from the Yamnaya culture, and the discovery may partially explain their rapid expansion throughout Europe. It was a couple-three miles to Masten Lake. Does anyone know anything about the Red Barn Resort? Can we bring a species back from the brink?, Video Story, Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, Copyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. Get rates. It was the summer of Woodstock. If you could check with Allison to see if Stephanie would mind me contacting her, I would be very grateful! You will be disappointed), but one place is frequently mentioned as a holdout of the free-spirited summers of the 1950s: Rosmarins Cottages. My mother was Gladys Lane a professional singer who worked the Borscht Belt summers & performed in Lakewood NJ winters. From what I saw there, her sister Stephanies married name is Stephanie Abrams. Perhaps the best metaphor is that Route 17, which used to run right through the hamlet is now bypassed, all because the single traffic light on that interstate had to be avoided. ceiling and hills of insulation covering the floor. The Catskills is a place nestled almost permanently in the popular imagination. Catskills Resort History: The Beginning of the End September 9, 2014 by John Conway 109 Comments Many of the 75 or so people at a recent Catskills History and Preservation Conference were shocked to hear that the Catskills ' heralded resort industry has been in decline since 1965. I went fishing with my Papa in the little lake across the road and caught my first fish. The 'extreme cruelty' around the global trade in frog legs, What does cancer smell like? In woodridge but Im also considered Fallsburg . Home-grown Borscht Belt entertainment provided America with a rich supply of comedians, musicians and performers. middle of it, amid a floor full of junk. first photos, especially one of the rundown lobby of The Pines, with It was old at the time. stories, pictures and who actually owned the hotel. He was quite a character, dancer and ladies man! I know Frank would love to get in touch with her. So interesting! We stayed in one of the outer buildings that time instead of the big main house. Enjoy the seasonal outdoor pool and perks like free self parking and free WiFi. Prosper Manor, and restore her financial condition. Borscht Belt is an apocalyptic, said photographer Scheinfeld. Anyway, thanks for your comments, Neil. It is a victim of a lot of things, but mainly, I think, as the Bible At Grossingerswhich had its own airstrip and is said to have inspired the movie Dirty Dancingthe grand ballroom was littered with old menus, and a glass-enclosed indoor pool was marked with graffiti. The movie Dirty Dancing decayed. Something new is growing out of the old, she says. leslie i loved minnie and izzy, they were great people. My Great Uncle and Great Aunt (Sam and Sally owned it, my Grandmother Helen did all the cooking). Or so I was told. Some sold to That doesnt mean that all the hotels were impacted equally, some continued to grow well into the 1970s and even a few beyond that, but by the mid-1970s, as many as 500 hotels had already closed down since the heyday in the mid-1950s. Noted also in this book is the resort areas importance within American Jewish history. Lots of pictures I think it was the Sunday magazine section of the local paper. Now that Im a senior myself I wish the Concord or Browns or Grossingers was still around. The end had actually come the previous year when the hotels owners were forced to sell to a group of orthodox Jews who changed the entire complexion of the place. Sad to have driven by the ruins a few years ago. I remember Ronnie and his sister Celina. I am 67 and would love to make the trip up by car from Florida at the first sign of Spring, I would appreciate it more than I can tell you. I do remember the name Moe Senate. The place had a day camp for the guests children. 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. In some ways, the Jewish Catskills has come full circle. I have lived in the Catskills for Most were in Sullivan county and Ulster county. Thank you. I remember the daughter was called Freddy. Not far from Green Acres. nirvana, a fantasy off route 17 two hours from the New York City, Yes, my family owned it. She has Catskills, or brought their fame with them. Concord, Grossingers, the Nevele, Tamarack Lodge, the Pines, They were a 2. I am sure there were others, but I also found home movies of my family at a Bungalow in 1951. If you want more details (albeit biased and incomplete my comments) there is a book by Maria Scheinfeld The Borscht Belt with 3 pounds of nostalgia, a lot of accuracy as far as it goes, but leaves out some of the minutiae and perspective (again my thoughts). Hi Neil, I just googled something else and this site came up. My grandparents, Joe and Ruth Flamenbaum owned the Lake Plaza Hotel in Parksville. It was beautiful and genteel. Our band, The Shape of Thyngs, played up there in 66 and 67. My brother and I talk about the good times we had at these extended family trips. That night, as his son roasts pots of popcorn in the fire, Josh Farley, then co-owner, describes touring the property in 2014. Nice memories-I too miss the life we enjoyed a week or so each year-I had my Bar Mitzvah at Sam and Shirley Shriliwitzs New Normandie Hotel down the street from Browns-anyone remember it? 12/20/2020 02:19:30 pm. has While highly interesting, the exhibit might have Summers in the Catskills came to a halt when my grandmother, Sabina, was diagnosed with cancer. It was 24 hours a day of fun! An outside photographer a second later, their eyes light up and they tell me stories of their When I was a little kid my parents and I would go to the Concord or Browns Resort, they liked Browns because the owners, Charles and Lillian Brown, were related to Jerry Lewis. Does this remind you of your childhood? I ask my mom. Does anyone remember a resort owned by the Rosenbergs During the fifties or Shustons resort in Livingston manor? She dismisses talk They were both at my wedding in Brooklyn in 1985. Al OMG greetings! Eco-friendly burial alternatives, explained. Its indoor swimming pool, which has transformed into a lush greenhouse over the years, is a destination for adventurers. Many of the old bungalow colonies in this area have been turned into summer camps, but Rosmarins still encapsulates the old Catskills, from its wood-paneled cottages to its Sunday softball games. It was sold off to the Grossinger family in the mid 1940s from what I can recall being told. I have something that might be of interest to you and your family You mentioned that your Great uncle was Frank Spector? I attended Camp Weelock, Camelot and Capri. I am still good friends with my counselor from 1970. It was said That the Catskills was hotter than putting present day las.vegas and Atlantic city together. I wanted to do this exhibit to show that the whole area today I have had contact with Allison Gottlieb Belkin was only via Facebook. the Borscht Belt and tug at your emotions. Thanks for listening to me blather on. izzy loved fishing, and brought his medallion taxi cab upstate. over the New York metropolitan area, less than 100 miles away on The hotel is on the right as you drive down the beautiful road. Two boys Burt and Ronnie. My daughter goes to Stagedoor Manor Camp in Loch Sheldrake. Too bad they sold before the Borscht Belt took off. out of money. We went every Monday to Middletown or Monticello for groceries. At its peak, the Borscht Belt a beloved epithet that encapsulates 538 hotels and 50,000 bungalow colonies situated in Sullivan and Ulster counties was the pre-eminent destination for tens of thousands of predominately East Coast American Jews. He also teaches writing at New Jersey City University. I had my Bar Mitzvah at Sam and Shirley Shrilowitzs New Normandie Hotel down the Street from Browns in 1964- Anyone remember that Hotel? Thanks Evan Barnett, Does anyone know the address of the holiday hotel in loch sheldrake ny ? Oh, that one! The best and most exciting part of the Catskills came during this period. Discover the citys most unique and surprising places and events for the curious mind. A nightclub and a restaurant are featured at this smoke-free motel. such as Sammy Davis Jr., He was the lifeguard and his Mother, Edna ran the camp. I have been metal detecting the site that was once the Youngs Gap in Parksville Ny, and i found a WW2 Good Conduct Medal up by the old ski lift area and it is engraved on the back with the name Frank Spector I have been looking everywhere trying to find him or the family so i could return this precious piece of family history! Families would come back to the same locale every summer, thrilled to reconnect with friends in the great outdoors. about what it was like to play the nightclubs in the mountain resorts Jews were barred Property Size 3,840 SF. My father hated being with his in-law for the week but my brothers and I, ages 9 to 14, enjoyed the surrounding woods where we loved to turn over rocks to see creepy things and pick up little red efts, which you could almost call cute. By the late 1980s, it. There is another picture of Next to it is a splashy, color postcard of the pool in its I came across this post while searching information on the historic The Overlook Hotel and Overlook Bungalow Colony in High View NY. The entire camp was sitting in there watching in awe. I was born in 58 and have amazing early childhood memories of the place and our bungalow. It was a great place for those of us escaping Brooklyn. The barn is gone but the silo still stands. Thanks much for any info you can supply. Visitors, mostly Jewish, came from all Indelible image in my mind forever. Concord Resort Hotel; In February 2018, Resorts World Catskills opened on the site of the old hotel. I am just hoping to find photos of it, or any information that can point me in the right direction, Thanks! entertainment mecca. Every summer, families fled their cramped apartments for the mountains. post cards, hotel tee-shirts, nightclub programs and restaurant But oops that wasnt happening after awhile. Thats not unusual. However, the films success was unable to influence tourists as the resort closed its doors in 1986, a year before the films release. One night he made me sing Getting to Know You with him. like the ruins of Pompeii. 730 E 950 S #D202, Orem, UT 84097 is a 1,026 sqft, 2 bed, 2 bath home. It was mostly a Greek hotel and was thriving during those years. Nostalgia for the old Catskills is so strong that multiple Facebook groups exist for former visitors to reminisce. These institutions shaped American Jewish culture, enabling Jews to become more American while at the same time introducing the American public to immigrant Jewish culture. Bigart also reported that in Loch Sheldrake, where there had been 42 hotels ten years ago, there were now only 12. Is there now something else where the hotel stood??? Belt, the Catskill mountain hotel night clubs that were famous I remember the young daughter of Shustons whose name was Freddy. You may remember it, but here's a refresher. This was probably around 1954. My parents were co-owners with the Blumbergs of Green Acres for four years. They then eloped as her parents forbade her to marry a singer! what it was like to see the comics, or listen to singers like Sammy The pool was a center of family summers at Tony Leones resort in New Yorks Catskills, circa 1960. PS. Please share more memories. Summer 2020 was like the old days, he says, completely booked, with shouts of Marco! Polo! echoing from the lake. You are so right-I really miss the Concord..and all the entertainers now gone with the wind as they say. Thank you for your comment. centers, orthodox Jewish colonies and drug rehab centers. The hotel was simply known as the "Nevele" until . Some owners had no funds to do so. I think I backed up your mother as an organist at a Bungalow Colony. My father didnt love the 24/7 demands of the hotel biz and sold out to the Blumbergs to return to the fuel business. 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. Does anyone have any idea about a possible hotel that was around Im thinking 1930s? There should have been a number of tables, or cases, full of Your perceptions aside, it is a demonstrable fact the economy of the Sullivan County Catskills began to decline as early as 1958. Fallsburg, N.Y. Is Burt still with us? We also would go into the hamlet where a general store was a wonderland of cool things and pinball machines had all the mesmerizing attraction of todays video games. Thanks Walter. The sign used to say Hood Ice Cream Orchard Colony Luncheonette. Scotts grandfather bought Rosmarins in 1941; when other colonies closed, his father absorbed their clientele. Grossinger's Catskill Resort Liberty, New York Actor Charlton Heston and his wife of nine years, actress Lydia Clarke, enjoy some time off during a ski weekend at Grossinger's in 1952. Does your family have any photos of the Overlook Hotel and Bungalow colony that you are willing to share? Theres been one major update, he points out: Rosmarins doesnt do the singer and the comic anymore. These days its food trucks and concerts. It was a vacation After World War II, my grandparentsrefugees from Polandmoved to the Bronx, started a family, and settled into this new tradition. My aunt on the Sanford house bungalow colony in South Fallsburg probably through 76 or 78. There are several Looking for respite from city life, New Yorkers would head to. Today, I believe the Edgewood House is a church camp, the store is part of a ghost town and the railroad is no more. Laurels Hotel and Country Club, Sackett Lake, Monticello, N.Y. The Grossingers were Austrian immigrants who opened a farmhouse in 1914 and quickly gained a reputation for their cooking and hospitality. I went for a week in the summer of 1962 at age six. Unfortunately, I dont live in NY but do make trips to visit a childhood friend who lives in New Jersey. On the Upswing Hi Linda this is Jeff Biller and my whole family including my brother Leslie Biller and sister Barbara Biller spent many summers at the lake Plaza and remember you and Stevie your parents and grandparents . Thank you, My grandparents operated the office the lake house on Briggs Highway in the 50s. 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 remember it was on a lake and I think the hotel was the end of that particular road, but not sure. I was friends with Mike geier. My family stayed at Green acres in 1965. New Yorkers hungry for mountain air, good food and the American way of leisure came to the mountains by the thousands, and by the 1950s a Half-million people each year inhabited the "summer world" of bungalow colonies, summer camps and small hotels. And a tennis court and eventually a building called the Annex, which had more bedrooms. Bib would deliver milk and eggs to our apt in Queens in the late 60s after the season ended. Ben was contacted but never responded. Guests these days want an adult summer campthe curated, not rustic, variety. Others tried to rebuild and ran I wont go in to detail of buying beer at 13 in Maltz General Store in Alligerville for 99 cents. 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. My father has a brochure of Swan Lake Hotel. I would love to share that photo of the two us that I have! Meanwhile, at the Catskills large hotels, entertainment was paramount. Hi Linda, What a lovely surprise to hear from you. Rosmarins sits at the foothills of the Catskills, just 50 miles north of Times Square. Please feel free to be in touch. Windsor, Gilberts, Zeigers, Camp Hi-Li -- today look eerily I was hoping Stephanie might remember me and could fill in some of the blanks. Has anyone considered a book or driving tour of where all of these hotels were and what is there now? Thanks for your insights on the Kennedy slide have not heard of that. It was one of my first memories as a kid. Resort Worlds Catskill in Monticello, on the site of the former Concord Hotel. My father stayed there and fished . To Linda Amar small world to me knowledge I know of no Flamenbaums with your names have come across several kindreds happy to say hellow my Father married into the Catskills by marrying a Woda from Swan Lake. Your memory is correct across the lake from the dock was a small dam and there was a path beside that dam leading down to a wonderful stream. You can almost see the ghosts of Sammy Davis Jr. and others in the After decades of activity and notable guests, it closed in 1986. Property Type Office. I had forgotten I had written this last year. Who can ever forget the Borscht I was intrigued by the Liberty House comment as I have a faint recollection of it from the Liberty history archives please take a look at the following site for picture: https://www.townofliberty.org/about/history/, Does anyone remember the holiday hotel in loch Sheldrake. 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. people ask? And somewhere there is an Sunday article with Ma Holder and my mother playing the part of her secretary. I dont recall ever coming across any photos of that particular place, but if any are to be found it is likely that the Sullivan County Historical Society would have them in its archives. Those that could make the necessary upgrades found themselves hopelessly in debt. A series of fires and building demolitions left the grand history of Fleischmanns to be largely documented by postcards, photographs and the fond memories of those who had experienced this period of good fortune. Thats me, but to my wife . Today, Louis Cohens has three bungalows and the main house still standing. As the largest independent multi-specialty physician group in Utah, our healthcare system gives patients the best in communication, quality, coordination and innovation. Its really nice to be in touch with you, Joan. tableau and they are big. In 1967, the Youngs Gap in Parksville, once one of the countys largest and most innovative hotels, closed, and by 1968 the Times was reporting that a number of smaller hotels, unable to keep pace with the large establishments and their newer, plush accommodations, had begun taking in campers. I think I may try to get in touch with Stefanie through Allisons facebook page. I spent the first 25 summers of my in the Catskills. It had many bungalows for camp activities an upper ball field and a lake for fishing. 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). section to this sad after section. A new phenomenon by the 1960s was that the Catskills didnt just appeal to the mostly Jewish clientele but to many other people around the country and worldwide. Once it was the sparkling center of Jewish summers, replete with glamorous hotels and thriving small towns. Ive talked to the museum of New Yorks Yeshiva University, in the heart of Photo: The New Roxy Hotel was one of several Sullivan County resorts that closed during the 1966 season, signaling an end to the regions Golden Age of Torusim. old Grossingers coffee shop is a shocker. Abe Rosenthal, manager of the Waldemere, specifically blamed the hotels financial problems on the new fireproof building costing $2 million built after a fire three years before had killed three guests. Once one of the most coveted getaways of the 1950s and 60s, the Granit Hotel and Country Club lasted until its decline in the 1980s. Birds have The photo of the I remember your mom and her brother Ralph. I believe the Rosenberg family owned both as well as the laurel hotel & country club. During my time I can remember Waxmans Overlook Loch Sheldrake, The President Swan Lake, The AmbassadorThe NationalThe Commodore S Fallsburg, The Paramount Parksville, The Heiden, The Valley View Kenoza Lake. He was pictured in the brochure catching a string full of fish. Smaller resorts the bulk of Sullivan Countys 538 hotels during that golden era began to close down. I remember the dog house with the beagles that would chase you adjacent to the main house. Would love to hear any scraps of history or memories! I bought it from a mrs fern green . 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! We stayed there in the mid fifties. Thanks. I was the only musician. Grandmothers name was Belle Fox, my grandfather was Maurice Silverman. I think there were 2 row boats. My maternal grandfather was a professional singer as well in the Catskills and sang at the New Roxy. not set up anything; this is all pure, living history.. The fabled Catskills resorts, with their fabulous nightclubs, began to die when the jet airplane started carrying vacationers to Florida and the Caribbean in the 1960s. Greene and Freddie Roman. When school let out, they would pack a car with bedding, kitchenware, and clothes and move to the Catskills until Labor Day. There were still millions being spent on expansions as late as 1955, but certainly by 1958 there were indications that a decline had begun. I worked for three summers (1959 1961) at the Sunset Springs Hotel in Haines Falls. My sister and I spent many summers there with our dad. put together an exhibit of several dozen pictures that are housed at We lived in Alley Pond Park on Kingsbury Avenue. Hi Neil, I was just looking checking my DNA on Ancestry and remembered seeing a Ben Feller listed as a 2/3rd cousin. But by the time I moved to New York, in 2011, the glory of the Jewish Alps had long faded. were the birthplace and later the homestead of such talented comics Scheinfeld says. 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. Scheinfeld spent her childhood accompanying her grandfather to card games at the once glamorous Concord Resort Hotel, by thenthe 1980salready past its prime. in the 1950s. photos of hotel guest rooms, mostly without furniture and the walls I spent the next 5 years at the Paramount. There was an article once along time ago of my grandmother but I cant find it anywhere . Best of luck. My family had great times there.
