May 2023
The small Hamlet of Parksville was once a vibrant community, as was much of the Catskills region of New York State. Colloquially known as the “Borscht Belt,” Parksville was part of the summer vacation haven for New York City Jews prior to integration and prior to cheap airfare, that allowed families to travel to distant locations. Parksville itself had several hotels and bungalow colonies in this once busy hamlet for vacationing families.
One place that vacationers would head to when they got hungry was Fiddle’s Dari-King. Owned by Joseph and Linda Fiddle beginning in 1961, it was a once popular seasonal eatery, serving ice cream, frozen yogurt, along with other things like milkshakes, hamburgers, French fries and Kosher hot dogs.
While business in Parksville had already dropped off with the closure of most of the hotels and bungalow colonies in Sullivan and Ulster Counties, it was the re-routing of State Route 17 in 2011, which by-passed Parksville, that spelt the end of many businesses. It would also lead to the decimation of Parksville itself, which many would consider has fallen into “ghost town” status.
When Fiddle’s Dari-King closed in the fall of 2012 for their usual winter shut-down, not even the staff realized that they were locking the doors for the last time.
As their usual opening date in May 2013 came and went with the doors still locked, it appeared that something was not right. A message was posted on their Facebook page in July confirmed that they would not be re-opening.
The abandoned eatery is just one of several abandoned buildings in Parksville.
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Sources: Fiddle’s Dari King – Parksville NY | Parksville NY (facebook.com).
