May 2025
Two more markers dedicated! Not a bad weekend in the Catskills area of eastern New York State.
Colloquially known as the Borscht Belt, the area was once populated with resorts and bungalow colonies that served as a summer refuge for Jewish clients from New York City, in an era when Jewish people still faced discrimination elsewhere. Many prominent comedians of the day got their start performing at the Borscht Belt hotels and bungalow colonies, like Lenny Bruce, Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Red Buttons, Sid Caesar, Totie Fields, George Burns, Rodney Dangerfield, Henny Youngman and Joan Rivers, just to name a few.
The Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project is headed up by Marisa Scheinfeld, a Brooklyn, NY-born photographer and author, who was raised in the Catskills during the last two decades of the 20th Century, when it was all fading away. Scheinfeld’s partners include Louis Inghilterra, an avid Borscht Belt historian and co-founder of the Marker Project and Isaac Jeffreys, a New York City-based photographer and the marker project’s visual coordinator.
The markers are part of a self-guided audio driving tour, using historical markers in selected locations throughout Sullivan County, along with plans for an assortment of related exhibitions, film screenings, comedic and musical events. Each marker commemorates the hotels and bungalow colonies that once populated that specific area.
On Saturday afternoon, 24 May, the Ellenville Library was the site of the dedication ceremony for marker number 10 in a series of historical markers placed around Sullivan and Ulster Counties. Dedicated to the 20 bungalow colonies and 29 hotels that once populated the Ellenville area, including the Nevele, the Fallsview, both owned by the Slutzky family, Arrowhead Lodge, Breeze Lawn Hotel, Echo Hotel and Mont Cathalia, a Chinese American Ski Resort.
Even a brief rain shower didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the ceremony.
Afterwards, all were invited to a discussion on Ellenville’s Borscht Belt history, “Borscht Belt Reborn: Art, History, and the Ellenville Legacy,” held at The Common Good, a bookstore and licenced cafe in downtown Ellenville, hosted by Marisa Scheinfeld and Isaac Jeffreys.
The following afternoon, it was off to the Fire Hall in Greenfield Park, where the eleventh marker was dedicated to the 62 hotels and 51 bungalow colonies that once populated the Greenfield Park and Ulster County area. Hotels that once lined the roads include the Tamarack Lodge, where guests once enjoyed shows by The Who, Cream, Rod Stewart and actor/comedian Buddy Hackett.
As noted by the Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project, placing the marker at the local fire hall, “…holds special significance. It stands as a powerful tribute to the many Borscht Belt hotels lost or damaged by fire, symbolizing both a profound sense of loss and the enduring resilience of the community.”
Directly across from the Greenfield Park fire hall, the Bear Kill Lodge once stood. This is where Red Buttons got his start as a tummler, that being an employee responsible for entertaining guests throughout the day, everything from being the resident comic to master of ceremonies for the nightly shows.
One of the more notable bungalow colonies was Four Seasons Lodge, one of the bungalow colonies founded by and exclusively for Holocaust survivors.
Guest speakers at the dedication ceremony in Ellenville included Ellenville Mayor Evan Trent, David Slutsky, of the Fallsview, Nevele and Slutsky Lumber fame, former Interim Village Manager Elliot Auerbach and Dara Gottfried, wife of the late comedian Gilbert Gottfried.
Guest speakers at the dedication ceremony in Greenfield Park included Ellenville Fire District Commissioner Paul J. Tuzzolino, Rachel Deyo, great-granddaughter of Dave and Este Levinson, owners of the Tamarack Lodge, Dr. Peter Alan Chester, treasurer of the Borscht Belt Museum and former employee of Grand Mountain Lodge, and Lisa Hackett, daughter of the legendary comedian Buddy Hackett, who performed at the Tamarack Lodge.
Both dedication ceremonies were a resounding success and just a sample of things to come, as four more dedication ceremonies are scheduled for this year:
Loch Sheldrake, 17 July
Woodbourne, 23 August
Parksville, 8 October
Livingston Manor, 18 October
Six additional markers planned for 2026. Stay tuned.
For more information about the Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project, upcoming marker dedications and special events, go to www.borschtbelthistoricalmarkerproject.org or www.maytheborschtbewithyou.com.
To hear an interview with Marisa Scheinfeld on the Borscht Belt Tattler podcast, visit: May the Borscht Be With you: Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project (buzzsprout.com)
