1932 Olympics: Speed Skater Spawned Suit

November 25, 2015 by John Conway 2 Comments

To most, Irving Jaffee will best be remembered for the two gold medals he won in the 1932 Olympics in Lake Placid. To others, he will forever be the man over whom two legendary Catskill hotels went to court one winter.

Jaffee was among the greatest speed skaters of his generation. He turned in the fastest time in the 10,000 meters at the 1928 Olympics in St. Moritz, only to have the event canceled without an official winner because unseasonably warm temperatures had thawed the ice. Four years later, in Lake Placid, Jaffe won gold medals in both the 5,000 and 10,000-meter races as American men swept all four speed skating events. [Read more…] about 1932 Olympics: Speed Skater Spawned Suit

Alfred B. Street And The Rise of Foliage Tourism

October 6, 2015 by John Conway 2 Comments

While the tourism industry has prospered in Sullivan County, New York for more than 150 years now, the concept of fall foliage as a tourism tool is relatively new.

The idea of promoting the changing colors of the leaves on the trees to encourage tourists to visit an area did not exist much at all before the late 1930s, and although both the Berkshires in Massachusetts and the Poconos in Pennsylvania were promoting fall foliage tours as far back as the 1940s, the Catskills did not begin to cash in on the idea until the 1950s. [Read more…] about Alfred B. Street And The Rise of Foliage Tourism

Knapp’s Folly: Sullivan County’s Columbia Hotel

September 10, 2015 by John Conway 25 Comments

Many of the participants at the 14th Annual Catskills Preservation and History Conference at the Liberty Museum & Arts Center in Liberty, NY last month were quite surprised to see and hear about the magnitude of Sullivan County’s resort industry during its heyday.

The opening presentation featured an in depth retrospective of the Delano Hotel in Monticello by Marvin Rappaport, grandson of the founder. [Read more…] about Knapp’s Folly: Sullivan County’s Columbia Hotel

Sullivan County’s Honeymoon Murder

August 31, 2015 by John Conway 8 Comments

Loch Sheldrake, or Sheldrake Pond, as it was known before many of the ponds in Sullivan County became lakes overnight as part of the late 19th century tourism boom, is one of the deepest bodies of water in the region.

It was a favorite dumping ground for Murder, Inc. when the enforcement arm of organized crime plied its trade in the mountains, and it is believed that at least one of the bodies deposited there has never been found. [Read more…] about Sullivan County’s Honeymoon Murder

Hudson River School Art Hikes Planned

August 13, 2015 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site will host five Hudson River School Art Trail hikes.

These guided hikes go to the painting sites of the 19th-century artist Thomas Cole and his contemporaries including Frederic Church, Jasper Cropsey, Sanford Gifford, and Asher B. Durand. Participants will be able to see the same views that appear in famous landscape paintings. [Read more…] about Hudson River School Art Hikes Planned

New Catskills Interpretive Center Opened

July 2, 2015 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

The Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner has officially opened the Maurice D. Hinchey Catskill Interpretive Center on Route 28 in the Hamlet of Mt. Tremper, Town of Shandaken, Ulster County, which is expected to serve as a gateway for visitors to Catskills Forest Preserve to learn about the area’s outdoor recreation opportunities, its ecology, and according to a press release, its history. [Read more…] about New Catskills Interpretive Center Opened

Thomas Cole Site Hosting Volunteer Info Open House

January 29, 2015 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site is opening its doors for an Information Open House on Sunday, February 15 at 12:30 pm for a one-hour program for all those interested in volunteering as a tour guide.

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site, located in Catskill, New York, is currently seeking volunteers to conduct tours of the house and studio. The organization is also recruiting Art Trail guides for their popular hiking program on the Hudson River School Art Trail where the views in 19th-century landscape paintings can be seen today in the Catskill Mountains. Volunteers are also needed for gardening and helping out at events. [Read more…] about Thomas Cole Site Hosting Volunteer Info Open House

Martin Luther King In The Catskills, 1968

January 18, 2015 by John Conway 7 Comments

On March 25, 1968 Dr. Martin Luther King delivered the keynote address at the annual Rabbinical Assembly Convention at the renowned Concord Hotel in Kiamesha Lake in the Sullivan County Catskills. Ten days later he was dead.

King had come to the Concord to address the gathering of conservative rabbis to honor his long-time friend, Rabbi Abraham Heschel, who had accompanied King and others in the historic 1961 march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, and who was being feted that might by his colleagues as a belated 60th birthday celebration. As he took the podium following his introduction, King was greeted warmly by those in attendance, who sang the civil rights song, “We Shall Overcome” in Hebrew. [Read more…] about Martin Luther King In The Catskills, 1968

A Stop At The Red Apple Restaurant

January 10, 2015 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

With its delicious food and warm hospitality, the Red Apple Rest was a legendary pit stop on the trek from New York City to the Catskills starting in the 1930s. Reuben Freed’s restaurant, staffed primarily by family and friends – or strangers who eventually became family – was in operation for more than fifty years.

Reuben’s daughter Elaine grew up in the Red Apple, and she brings the restaurant back to life in Stop At The Red Apple: The Restaurant on Route 17 (SUNY Press, 2014) of vignettes, interviews, photos, and memorabilia. It’s a memoir, yes, but also an immigrant success story, love story, and memorial to a slice of bygone New York history and popular culture. [Read more…] about A Stop At The Red Apple Restaurant

Winter Recreation Resorts In The Catskills

December 4, 2014 by John Conway 1 Comment

Time was that the Sullivan County Catskills were as popular as any summer tourist destination in the country. And as far back as the 19th century, some enterprising hotel owners attempted to translate that popularity into year around success.

Boosted by the patronage of those seeking a cure from tuberculosis, in the 1880s the Ontario and Western Railway began advertising the area as a winter health resort, publishing its annual “Winter Homes” brochure in addition to the popular “Summer Homes” booklet. [Read more…] about Winter Recreation Resorts In The Catskills