Borscht Belt

The word comes from borscht, a soup of Ukrainian origin, made with beetroot as the main ingredient giving it a deep reddish-purple color,[2] that is popular in many Central and Eastern European countries and brought by Ashkenazi Jewish and Slavic immigrants to the United States.

Borscht Belt hotels, bungalow colonies, summer camps, and kuchaleyns (a Yiddish name for self-catered boarding houses) were visited often by middle and working-class Jewish New Yorkers, mostly Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe and their children and grandchildren, particularly in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Because of this, this area was nicknamed the Jewish Alps and "Solomon County" (a modification of Sullivan County) by many people who visited there. Resorts of the area included Brickman's, Brown's, The Concord, Grossinger's, Granit, the Heiden Hotel, Irvington, Kutsher's Hotel and Country Club, the Nevele, Friar Tuck Inn, The Laurels Hotel and Country Club, The Pines Resort, Raleigh, the Overlook, the Tamarack Lodge, Stevensville and the Windsor. Some of these hotels originated from farms that were established by immigrant Jews in the early part of the 20th century.[3]

Two of the larger hotels in High View (just north of Bloomingburg) were Shawanga Lodge and the Overlook. One of the high points of Shawanga Lodge's existence came in 1959 when it was the site of a conference of scientists researching laser beams. The conference marked the start of serious research into lasers.[4] The hotel burned to the ground in 1973.[5]

The Overlook had entertainment and summer lodging for many years through the late 1960s and was operated by the Schrier family. It included a main building, about 50 other bungalows, and a five-unit cottage just across the street.

Access to the area improved with the upgrade of old travel routes such as old New York State Route 17. On the other hand, passenger train access ended with the September 10, 1953 termination of passenger trains on the Ontario and Western Railway mainline from Roscoe at the northern edge of Sullivan County, through the Borscht Belt, to Weehawken, New Jersey.[6] The area suffered as a travel destination in the late 1950s, with the increase of air travel allowing families to visit more far-off destinations.

In 1987, New York's mayor Ed Koch proposed buying the Gibber Hotel in Kiamesha Lake to house the homeless. The idea was opposed by local officials.[7] The hotel instead became the religious school Yeshiva Viznitz.[8]

The Heiden Hotel in South Fallsburg, which was the location of the movie Sweet Lorraine starring Maureen Stapleton, was destroyed by fire in May 2008.[9]

The Stevensville Hotel in Swan Lake, owned by the family of accused Bernard Madoff accomplice David G. Friehling, reopened as the Swan Lake Resort Hotel.[10]

The former Homowack Lodge in Phillipsport was converted into a summer camp for Hasidic girls. Officials of the state Department of Health ordered the property evacuated in July 2009, citing health and safety violations.[11]

Many Buddhist and Hindu retreat centers have been constructed on the land or in the restored buildings of former camps or resorts to serve adherents in New York City, the establishment of which has then drawn even more temples and centers to the area. This led to the coining of the nickname 'Buddha Belt', 'Bhajan Belt', or 'Buddhist Belt' to refer to the areas revival. [12][13][14]

The tradition of Borscht Belt entertainment started in the early 20th century with the indoor and outdoor theaters constructed on a 40-acre (16-hectare) tract in Hunter, New York by Yiddish theater star Boris Thomashefsky.

A cradle of American Jewish comedy since the 1920s, the Borscht Belt entertainment circuit has helped launch the careers of many famous comedians and acted as a launchpad for those just starting out.[15]

Comedians who got their start or regularly performed in Borscht Belt resorts include:

Borscht Belt humor refers to the rapid-fire, often self-deprecating style common to many of these performers and writers. Typical themes include:

• Bad luck
• Puns: "Sire, the peasants are revolting!" "You said it. They stink on ice." (Harvey Korman as Count de Money (Monet) and Mel Brooks as King Louis XVI, in History of the World Part I)
• Physical complaints and ailments (often relating to bowels and cramping): "My doctor said I was in terrible shape. I told him, 'I want a second opinion.' He said, 'All right, you're ugly too!'" "I told my doctor, 'This morning when I got up and saw myself in the mirror, I looked awful! What's wrong with me?' He replied, 'I don't know, but your eyesight is perfect!'" (Dangerfield)
• Aggravating relatives and nagging wives: "My wife and I were happy for twenty years. Then we met." (Dangerfield). "Take my wife—please!" (Henny Youngman); "My wife drowned in the pool because she was wearing so much jewelry." (Rickles); "My wife ain't too bright. One day our car got stolen. I said to her, 'Did you get a look at the guy?' She said, 'No, but I got the license number.'" (Dangerfield) "This morning the doorbell rang. I said 'Who is it?' He said 'It's the Boston Strangler.' I said 'It's for you dear!'" (Youngman)

These resorts have been the setting for movies such as Dirty Dancing (Kutsher's), Sweet Lorraine, and A Walk on the Moon.

Characters inspired by Borscht Belt comics include Billy Crystal's Buddy Young Jr. from Mr. Saturday Night and Robert Smigel's Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog.

In the 1960 film Murder, Inc., Walter Sage (Morey Amsterdam) is shown performing at the fictional Ribbon Lodge in the Catskills.

In the 1976 film The Front, set in 1953, comedian Hecky Brown (Zero Mostel), harassed by HUAC, has an ill-fated gig in the Catskills.

In the film Sleepers, a poster for Sonny Liston is seen on the wall of Robert De Niro's apartment and shows the Pines Resort as the location of the fight. The scene is when they are talking about the defense of the trial and De Niro's talk to Jason Patric and Minnie Driver.

In the Season 3 episode of the 1990s live-action sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch, "Sabrina's Real World", Hilda Spellman accidentally puts on a literal, magical "borscht belt" that causes her to tell stand-up jokes non-stop and won't come off until she's told one million jokes.

In the online game Mobsters, A Borscht Belt Comedian is a henchmen needed for a mission involving taking over a Catskill Resort.

The early-20th-century Jewish experience of vacationing in the Catskills was recounted in the graphic short story "Cookalein" by Will Eisner. The story appears in Eisner's collection A Contract with God.

The novel Marjorie Morningstar was about the same era and locale, but the corresponding film was made in the Adirondacks rather than the Catskills.

Several episodes of Season 2 of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel are set in the Catskills and depict Catskill resort living in detail.

• History of the Catskill Mountains
• Chitlin' Circuit
• Sawdust trail

• The Catskills Institute, Brown University. Archived from the original on December 2, 2019.
• Van Ells, Mark D. (Spring 2007). "The Rise and Fall of the Borscht Belt (Review)". Film & History. Center for the Study of Film and History. 37 (1): 80. doi:10.1353/flm.2007.0011. S2CID 201796384. Archived from the original on June 3, 2018.
• Documentary about a bungalow colony of Holocaust survivors in the Catskills