Borscht Belt Bungalows: Memoirs Of Catskill Summers

9. The Quest for Entertainment [Includes Image Plates]

The Quest for Entertainment Entertainment was always very important to Sullivan County. The list of performers who got their start in the Borscht Belt is long and legendary and their stories have been told to death. While live professional entertainment came to the bungalow colonies in the 1950s, prior to that much entertainment was home grown or stolen-that is from the perspective of hotel owners who often looked at bungalow people as schnorers (beggars) or gonifs (thieves). In the matriarchal world ofthe weekday bungalow colonies, card games and the occasional movie were the primary nighttime entertainment. The weekend was another story. This was the time to hule (party)-and party everyone did. Saturday night was the night ofthe bungalow community. This community was alive and united and did something. The "something" could be a simple cookout , homemade entertainment (reviews, games, dances), going to the movies en mass, or the ultimate-getting into a hotel to see a show. At Richman's, parties changed radically over the years. The first parties were organized by the tenants, and Grandpa would donate five dollars to the party fund. The guests would kick in a quarter a person, and a self-appointed committee would buy marshmallows, hot dogs, rolls, mustard, and relish. Notice no ketchup: It was years before I saw a kosher hot dog dressed with ketchup. Soda was also supplied, but never beer, although Grandpa would sneak off to help himself from his private stock. Kids liked these parties because we could attend and gorge ourselves. We had parties two or three times a year. The parties during the Fourth of July weekend and the Labor Day weekend (on the preceding Saturday or Sunday night) were fixtures; another during the middle ofthe summer was optional. These events were informal and cooperative. When kids heard a party was coming up, we took to the woods to gather the perfect marshmallow toasters, long greenwood sticks. Older kids would whittle points on these skewers. We were also pressed into scouring the woods for dead brush to be used for the ritual bonfire. As a matter of fact, building a bonfire was something done almost every Saturday night. These regular bonfires were early in the evening and smaller than those related to a party. At first fires were built on the ground, then in the mid 1940s Grandpa built an outdoor fireplace. When the fire was at its height, the kids delighted in toasting marshmallows, chasing each other with pointed sticks, and fencing. "Don't run with the sticks," parents admonished, "You'll put out an eye." Fortunately, we never had any wounds worse than a scratch. When the fire burned down to the bright-ash stage, the hot dogs were grilled. First a grate was laid down across the ember area, then the hot dogs were placed in wire grill cages and cooked. One tenant always appointed himself grill chef. The hot dogs would then be dumped on a platter and everyone helped themselves. No paper plates, just packages of buns. And during the war, people brought their own glasses for soda. Most people were not as germ conscious as they are now-it wasn't until later that parties used paper cups. Everyone cooled a bottle or two ofthe party soda in their ice boxes, or later in their refrigerators, and no ice was served with the drinks. We played games such as musical chairs, adults and children together. After the kids were put to bed, the adults would sing, tell risque jokes, and generally horse around. The Fourth of July weekend was always considered the official start of the season and was a cause for celebration. Some of our tenants had firecrackers (which were, and are, illegal in New York but could still be bought in New Jersey ), and a few tenants even had cherry bombs and an occasional rocket. The kids were limited to sparklers purchased in Woodbourne. They were a letdown from the glamorous (and more dangerous) fireworks, but you could run with them (until caught by a parent) and swing them in arks. We also watched the sky for rockets set offat other colonies and hotels and by the goyim as they celebrated the holiday. All ofthe party activity took place on the side lawn, which 121 The Quest for Entertainment BORSCHT BELT BUNGALOWS had one major drawback: In the mountains the dew wets the grass early...