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What, you might ask, is Borscht? A soup with its origin in the Ukraine and a staple in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. This comfort food is made from beets which are pureed and blended, usually with sour cream and served over a hot, peeled potato with an additional dollop of sour cream on top. The taste is earthy and the comfort level associated is high. So, what is the mix with a belt? Well, the New York Catskill region in Sullivan and Ulster Counties was called the Borscht Belt from the 1920’s till the 1970’s. An area about 90 miles from NYC where mostly Jews escaped the city and migrated, in droves, for a vacation in bungalow colonies and hotels scattered, in mass, throughout the region. In the hotels they got all of the amenities associated with grand resorts including lots and we mean lots of food, social and sports activities and headline entertainment. In the bungalow colonies the guest mostly did their own cooking and created their own activities. Ok, ok, the answer to the question, why the name Borscht Belt? The soup, Borscht, is often associated with Eastern European Jews and considering the Catskills was the Jewish Alps the name Borscht Belt was totally appropriate. Other than food the big draw to the hotels was the entertainment. Just about every entertainer you could name from that era either got their start or performed at a Catskill hotel.
During the early 70’s we worked at a number of the resorts while in high school and college during the summer. The experience for a staff member was quite different than a guest. We won’t go into detail but if you want a good idea of the climate watch movies like Duddy Kravitz with Richard Dryfuss, Dirty Dancing with Patrick Swayze and of course season two of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. The story lines are about as accurate as you can get. We worked hard, well not that hard, ate well and had lots of fun. Living conditions for the staff were a far cry from guest accommodations but being young and adventurous, we survived. On our exploration of the area we got a hold of an old Borscht Belt hotel and bungalow colony map. Our efforts were not as expected trying to seek out the long gone establishments which have been either been vandalized beyond recognition, demolished or taken over by other types of businesses. A sad state of affairs by any stretch of the imagination. Many of the bungalow colonies have been taken over by Hasidic Jews who come to the area from NYC and surrounding areas for retreats. Driving by many of them they look like the old villages their families lived in in Eastern Europe. The hamlet of Woodbourne in Fallsburg is an example of a Catskill area that has a major influx of Orthodox and Hasidic Jews during the spring, summer and fall. The businesses cater to their lifestyle and include a number of kosher eating establishments and groceries. So, what happened to the Catskills? To make a long story, with multiple events, short and to the point. During the late 60’s and early 70’s travel to Europe and the Caribbean became very accessible, family incomes increased and the desire to travel longer distances for greater adventure was taking hold. Southeast Florida also was becoming a place where retirees and families were traveling to and establishing residence. IBM Corp had a massive presence in Kingston, NY employing thousands of people and decided to pull their facilities out. The hotels were closing in mass and what was left was a hard place for residents to make a living and a huge downturn in the vacation population. The nails in the coffin were being pounded in with vengeance. Remembering when we were kids, going to the Catskill hotels with our families along with our personal experience of working at a number of them, packing for a 3, 4 or more-day vacation was a surreal experience. The typical day was broken up into distinct segments based around three massive meals. Preparation went something like this. You packed clothes for everything, and no outfit could be worn twice because even in a massive hotel like Grossinger’s, if you wore something twice everyone would notice, and you would run the risk of being the topic of conversation for 3000 people. This is not an option. You needed an outfit for breakfast, and after you finished stuffing your face you went back to your room and changed for the morning activities. Afterwards you went back to your room and changed for lunch. Again, you ate copious amounts of food and would take a leisurely stroll or ride back to you room and change for afternoon activities all the while wondering what you were going to order for dinner. About 4 o’clock you might go back to your room and take a little nap. About 5 o’clock you started to get ready for dinner. Suits for the men and evening gowns for the women as no business casual or less was allowed in the dining room for dinner. After finishing a dump truck portion of dinner and dessert you quickly headed back to the room and changed into a more leisurely outfit for the evening show followed by a late-night snack and then off to bed. Now, that was one day worth of clothes and as said before you could not wear anything twice. Multiply that by 3, 4 or more days and you practically needed a U-Haul to get the tremendous amount of luggage up to the Catskills. The last day you usually left to go home after breakfast and the outfit could not be the one you wore up to the hotel. Most likely your clothes size had increased as well. Most folks left being helped by a forklift for their luggage and their increased girth after eating a city worth of food. All right, maybe the forklift stuff is an exaggeration, but the amount of clothing packed, and food consumed is not. As a society we most certainly have changed, at least a little. When we left the Catskills our thoughts for this scenic area of lower Up-State NY are hopes they can recover and once again be a thriving destination in the mountains.
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October 2022
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