‘The Catskills Were the Centerpiece of My Life’: Oral Histories Bring Borscht Belt Back to Life

﻿

The legacy of the once-booming Borscht Belt is getting a fresh chapter this summer as the Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project returns with new installations and a renewed mission to preserve the vanishing stories of the Catskills’ golden era.

A total of six new historical markers will be installed across Sullivan and Ulster counties, each unveiling a distinct facet of the region’s rich Jewish-American vacation culture that flourished throughout the 20th century. From resorts and bungalow colonies to summer camps and comedy stages, the Borscht Belt shaped the cultural identity of generations — and now, through a series of public events, its stories will be formally collected, shared, and safeguarded.

The initiative is being powered by a partnership between the Museum at Bethel Woods, the Borscht Belt Museum, and the Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project, all working together under the umbrella of the Community Connectors Oral History Project. Funded in part by government grants — which briefly faced cancellation before being reinstated — the program aims to capture firsthand accounts of life in the Catskills during the 1950s through the 1970s.

“We’re not just talking about historical facts,” said Dr. Neil Hitch, Senior Curator at the Museum at Bethel Woods. “We’re talking about lived experiences — stories that are deeply personal, local, and fading fast. If we don’t preserve them now, we may lose them forever.”

Stories You Won’t Find in Textbooks
One such story comes from an 84-year-old man who shared his memories of a small hamlet called Greenfield Park, where he spent his summers as a teenager. In an oral history interview conducted in Boca Raton earlier this year, he recounted a summer in 1956 when he received a coveted Daisy BB gun for his 14th birthday — a gift that led to a mischievous revenge plot involving a jukebox, a banned pop song, and the shooting out of a neon sign.

“He said, ‘The Catskills were the centerpiece of my life,’” Hitch recalled. “That one sentence says so much about what these places meant to people.”

The story, like dozens of others being gathered, will be archived in both the Museum at Bethel Woods and the Borscht Belt Museum — a dual-institutional approach ensuring long-term preservation and public access.

A Community Built on Sharing
Hitch draws a direct connection between these small personal histories and the larger cultural impact of the region — including the famed 1969 Woodstock festival, held just a few miles from the heart of Borscht Belt country.

“There’s a theory we’re exploring: that the reason Woodstock succeeded peacefully in Bethel was because of the communal spirit already here,” said Hitch. “These were communities built on generosity, on inclusion, and on shared experience. When 500,000 young people arrived for Woodstock, that same spirit of hospitality kicked in.”

Public Events This Weekend

The summer’s first historical marker dedication will take place Saturday in Ellenville, at the public library at 3 p.m. The event will include an oral history popup, where attendees can record their own stories on-site, no registration required.
The following day, Sunday, the project moves to Greenfield Park, where a second marker will be unveiled at the local firehouse, again followed by a community oral history recording session.
“These popups are designed to be as accessible as possible,” Hitch said. “You sit down, we mic you up, and you share your story — 10, 15 minutes, whatever you’ve got. We’re not looking for polished anecdotes; we want memories.”

A Race Against Time
As the aging generation of Borscht Belt vacationers enters its twilight years, the urgency of collecting these oral histories grows.
“Photographs and old postcards can show you what the resorts looked like,” Hitch said, “but it’s the voices, the laughter, the mishaps and the music that bring it to life. Without those, you’re only seeing half the story.”

To learn more:
bethelwoodscenter.org
borschtbelthistoricalmarkerproject.org

Image: The Pines Resort pool in South Fallsburg, NY. (Credit: borschtbelthistoricalmarkerproject.org)