During a few summers in the early 1960’s, my family and I would spend a fun-filled week at an all-inclusive resort in the Catskill Mountains of New York. My mom would pack our suitcases with items ranging from bathing suits to formal wear and everything in between. We loaded up my dad’s Mercury Monterey convertible and we drove the seven-hour long journey from Montreal along the Northway toward the town of Ellenville, New York. Just a mile or two before Ellenville was the beautiful Nevele resort. The entrance was marked with a gigantic archway inscribed with the name of the hotel.
As we drove up to the main entrance, bellhops and car valets were already waiting for us. They unloaded and parked the car and brought our suitcases to our room. All the while, my father was busy peeling off five-dollar bills from his billfold to ensure that all the service people received a proper tip. It didn’t take very long after we checked in for our mother to enroll us in the “Kids Camp.” This way, our parents could spend their vacation lounging at the pool, playing mahjong and enjoying their lavish meals without their annoying offspring hanging around.
The kids had their own club house and their own swimming pool. There were counselors to look after us and plan our social activities. My sister and I were the only Canadians and we had to learn the American pledge of allegiance – I still remember it to this day. We swam, played mini-putt, rode bikes, went on hikes and rehearsed for the weekend talent show.
We had our own dining room, and the food was incredible. For breakfast, there was a choice of a dozen different cereals that were mostly unavailable in Canada, bagels and lox, pancakes with maple syrup, toast, rolls, Danish pastries, and piping hot oatmeal. Lunch was a cornucopia of cold cuts, egg, tuna and salmon salads and hot dishes like spaghetti, lasagna and chicken cutlets.
One day, after a satisfying bowl of spaghetti for lunch, the waiter brought out “Banjo” bars for desert. These were made with vanilla ice cream on a stick covered with a hard chocolate shell. We could eat as many as we wanted, and, well as boys being boys, we decided to have a Banjo-eating contest. I devoured 47 of those delicious treats, but I lost to a guy named Stevie Lesinger from New York City who was able to consume over 50 bars.
Thinking back about those vacations in the Catskills brings back fond memories. A few weeks ago I heard about an event that was taking place in Ellenville on the weekend of July 27. It was called the Borscht Belt Festival – a happening that promised to bring back the feelings of the Catskill Mountain Resorts. The festival promised a street fair with Jewish food including the infamous borscht with sour cream, potato knishes, pastrami sandwiches, pickles, bagels with a shmear and the Brooklyn Egg Cream. The soundtrack was provided by a wonderful live Klezmer band.
The festival also included over 25 shows and conferences beginning with an open-mic night and comprising events like “My Daddy, The Comedian” featuring the children of iconic Borscht Belt comics sharing their personal stories; “Immigrant Jam” – performances by some of New York’s funniest first-generation comics; “The Shtetl Kitchen” – exploring the history of today’s favorite Jewish recipes; an inside look at the making of “Dirty Dancing” featuring veteran New York DJ Cousin Brucie; “Borscht Belt Serenade” – a collection of some of the hits performed by Borscht Belt crooners; and to top things off, “Jackie Mason – The Musical” – the life of comedian Jackie Mason in song.
At the center of the festival stands the Borscht Belt Museum, a permanent tribute to all things Catskills. The museum, situated in the building that was once the Home National Bank (the vault now contains a model of a typical Borscht Belt hotel room) is dedicated to preserving the history of the Borscht Belt as a haven from bigotry, a birthplace for stand-up comedy and “a cultural catalyst that left deep imprints on America.”
At the vortex of the festival stands the Borscht Belt Museum, a permanent tribute to all things Catskills. The museum, situated in the building that was once the Home National Bank (the vault now contains a model of a typical Borscht Belt hotel room) is dedicated to preserving the history of the Borscht Belt as a haven from bigotry, a birthplace for stand-up comedy and “a cultural catalyst that left deep imprints on America.”
The museum contains memorabilia and photos from many of the Borscht Belt hotels. Visitors can watch videos that explain the origin of the Catskills as a Jewish tourist destination. There is a model hotel room and an example of the “bungalow” kitchen. An exhibit aptly titled “And Such Small Portions!” displays the menus from various hotels including Brown’s, The Nevele, Kutcher’s and Grossinger’s. One visitor describes spending Yom Kippur at Grossinger’s – “After the fast ended, there was a complete breakfast with bagels, lox, four types of herring, pancakes, eggs, hot and cold cereal and fruit bowls. A couple of hours later, the hotel served its usual roast beef dinner to a full dining room.”
Visitors to the museum can have their own Catskill stories recorded for posterity in audio or written formats. During our visit we met many couples from New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia who all had wonderful tales about their experiences in the Catskills. By the end of the 1960’s, the Borscht Belt lost its luster as a vacation spot. One of the organizers explained that this was an effect of “The Three A’s – Air Conditioning: People no longer had to escape to the mountains to cool off in the summer; Airplanes: Airfares were becoming more affordable and people could fly to more exotic destinations; and Assimilation: American Jews were becoming a part of mainstream America and no longer felt the need to escape from antisemitism.”
Our accommodation for the festival was a refurbished hotel that sat just next to the Nevele. The entrance still displays the Nevele logo (missing the letter V). How sad it was to see the Nevele grounds, with boarded-up windows, overgrown lawns and abandoned swimming pools. The Borscht Belt Festival, now in its second year, has successfully managed to bring back some of the wonderful nostalgia that was the Catskill Mountains.
Paul J. Starr is a recently retired systems analyst who has lived his entire life in Montréal, Canada. On Sunday mornings he is “living the dream,” hosting a two-hour Internet radio show featuring music from the 50s and 60s called “Judy’s Diner.”
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