Looking for people who went to the Catskills between appx. 1951 and 1964. I went to Woodridge, which is near Fallsburg, and have MANY happy memories.

I have been to the Concord hotel in tha Catskills.

Also, many years ago my parents frieds owned a small hotel, I believe near Woodbridge. It was called "The Garden House".

I spent many weekends in the catskills, usually staying with someone at Edelman's bungalow colony in South Fallsburg

FF, I know Edelman's well. If you went to the Old Falls, and made a right, I was about 4 miles down the road, just before the town of Woodridge, next to the Olympic and Claremore Hotels. Did you go horseback riding at Steves? I was just down the road from him (I also worked there for a few summers)

Never could take to horses. I was up there weekends with family. I had a good friend who worked at Brown's and saw him from time to time.

My family stayed at Rose Garden in Woodbourne for many summers between 1958 and 1968. For a young boy who very rarely ventured outside The Bronx and NYC, they were some of the happiest times of my life. It was a very small bungalow colony by bungalow colony standards, but is there anyone out there who stayed there?

I spent about ten summers in Woodridge between 1953 and 1963, in two bungalow colonies. I spent one summer, in my junior year of Monroe HS, at Shorehaven. The bungalow colonies were near the Olympic Hotel, about halfway between the Old Falls in Fallsburg, and Woodridge on either Route 42 or 52. There was a small hotel next door, the Claremore Hotel. I used to sneak in often, especially at night, and enjoy the shows. The house band was a great inspiration for my picking up the trumpet. I went horseback riding at Steve's (Steve Weisman) Riding Academy, near the Claremore Hotel, and worked there as a rider for a few summers. Another great experience where I learned about work, responsibility and beautiful girls who liked boys. Hormones raged during those summers (HAHAHAH), and girls had my attention ALL summer.

Memories still run deep of walking on a small country road after a rain and collecting those orange salamanders. I still smell that road. We used to rub their bellies and put them to sleep.

Yes, summers in the Borscht Belt were like no others, and are certainly indescribable to those unfamiliar with the idea of a Bungalow Colony, pin-ball machines, the man who delivered potato knishes twice a week in his old beater-upper of a car, older residents with tatooed numbers from concentration camps on their forearms (lots of them at both Masher's and Royal Bungalow Colony in Woodridge). I eventually would up playing in a Dance Band (trumpet) and can thank the musicians who helped me by just BEING THERE. Never made it to Woodbourne. I guess my circuit was Woodridge, Fallsburg (the Old Falls, of course) and South Fallsburg. I loved the pizza they made at the Crossroads Restaurant, at the intersection of Routes 42 and 52.

Keep in touch,

Steve Heller

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mickeymantle,

We couldnt afford the Catskills, lol

We did rent a house in Jersey, Lavalette, for a week or two, about 7 families in one house..........what joy.

I spent 2 weeks at the Swan Lake Hotel one afternoon.

quote:

Originally posted by HerbM:
I have been to the Concord hotel in tha Catskills.

Also, many years ago my parents frieds owned a small hotel, I believe near Woodbridge. It was called "The Garden House".

We went to the Concord in 1998 or 1999 - it was terrible. We went on a Jeep Jamboree - a weekend of off-roading. The meals were provided by Jeep and were served in the clubhouse of the golf course - we only slept in the hotel. We were in one of the "newer" buildings. The lobby and the area around the eleveators on each floor were devoid of any furnishings. The carpeting (shag cica 1965) was ready for the garbage. When we check-out they charged us a service fee. I complained to AMEX and they removed the charge and was never billed for the stay.

It's ironic in that it was the only time I went there and a cousin of mine was retired as the head M'aitre. They called him by his nickname - Steamboat.

We went to a bungalow colony on the east side of the Hudson - Dutchess Acres near Hopewell Junction. My father didn't want to fight the traffic over the GW. We went there from 1944 through 1952 and 1954.

quote:

Originally posted by Karyn_:
We couldnt afford the Catskills, lol

We did rent a house in Jersey, Lavalette, for a week or two, about 7 families in one house..........what joy.

Karyn,

Depending on where in the Catskills, and what housing you were interested in, it could be quite affordable. The "typical" bungalow colony in Woodridge and Fallsburg, where I went each summer, charged between $200 and $400 dollars for a bungalow for the entire summer. The Bungalow was nothing more that a small house, with the outside wall being the inside wall as well. Nothing fancy. The furnitire was basic, or "rustic" HAHAHA. The $200 one would include a very small bedroom, a small kitchen, a bathroom, and MAYBE a place to sit inside, other than around the kitchen table, which was the social center of the bungalow. Typically there was an enclosed porch. In most cases, the mother stayed there all summer with the children, and the father came up for the weekends. Children had many, many friends, and days were spent emploring all that the Catskills had to offer for a curious child. The weekend was passed either with the husbands sitting around the pool playing rummy with their buddies, for a few bucks a game, and the ladies played "Mah Jongg", a game similiar to "Dominoes", and VERY popular among Jewish ladies in the Catskills. So, whem you figure in the very inexpensive housing, it was quite a treat. Of course, $200 can still be quite expensive for a family who didnt have that amount.

It was a real treat to be able to go back year after year and have the same friends each summer. Families generally came from either Brooklyn or the Bronx, depending on the area of the Catskills you are speaking about.

MM, I went to a bungalow colony in Monticello when my kids were little. From 1978-1984...called Crescent Lake. I actually fell into it as the owner was retailer in Throggs Neck....my in laws were in the bungalow next door...we were the only Christians there. It was terrific...my kids went to camp....the bugle in the morning and color war at the end of the summer. It was a very small colony, only 27 units...but beautiful, we were right behind Kutschers. We stopped going because it was going coop and we were trying to save for a house....some great memories of the smell of coffee brewing in the early morning, kids collecting salamanders and the Mah Jongg tiles clicking in the evening....no phones..one phone booth down by the lake....wonderful.

We spent our summers in bungalow colonies on Sackett Lake near Monticello.

The nearby hotels were the Laurels Country Club, the Congress and Biltmore hotels and the Sackett Lake Lodge.

We spent a lot of time trying to sneak into these hotels to see the shows---sometimes we were even successful.