All aboard for the Magical History Tour!

JONATHAN CHARLES FOX
Posted 8/21/12

Just when I think I know everything there is to know about Sullivan County, along comes the Magical History Tour. Now in its 21st year and co-hosted by Sullivan County Historian John Conway and local …

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All aboard for the Magical History Tour!

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Just when I think I know everything there is to know about Sullivan County, along comes the Magical History Tour. Now in its 21st year and co-hosted by Sullivan County Historian John Conway and local architect Robert Dadras, the tour is presented by The Delaware Company (https://www.facebook.com/TheDelCo) in collaboration with the Liberty Museum and Arts Center (www.libertymuseum.com). I had the opportunity to jump on board last weekend, eager to explore this year’s theme: “The story of tourism: How it all began,” which was slated to include stops at the Catskill Fly Fishing Museum and Roscoe’s O & W Railway Museum as well.

Departing from the museum in Liberty, NY, the comfy, air-conditioned bus was packed with like-minded individuals, many of whom had been before. I learned that there are more than eight different tours available on a rotating basis, making it possible to have different experiences each time. Snaking our way along the historic Liberty Highway, Conway and Dadras began by explaining that we would be exploring some of the sites of the hundreds of resorts that dotted the landscape during the Catskills vacation-destination heyday. Like many, I was familiar with names like The Concord, Grossingers and the Flagler, but not so with others like Youngs Gap, which was the first in the region to be fully electrified and feature an indoor pool, an elevator and skating rink.

While Conway shared some of his vast knowledge regarding the history of the Borscht Belt hotels—including the origins of the area’s popularity, which began with fishing enthusiasts and tanneries—he set the stage for his narrative of the rise and decline of the Sullivan County resort industry. Conway’s narrative began with the first summer hotel in 1845 as the tanneries declined, moving through the century as peak travel began on the O&W, the first Jewish hotel opening in 1899, the massive fire that consumed Liberty’s Wawonda in 1914, and the arrival of the Grossinger family—and all that was prior to what is commonly known as the “Golden Age.”

Architect Dadras (whom Conway calls the “star of the show”) interjected throughout, pointing to the various design styles that also changed during the decades. Though I am familiar with many of the Victorian architectural details, I learned new things about the Italianate, popularized between 1859 and 1890, as well as some fine examples of Greek Revival buildings, several of which still stand. As we made our way along the old highway, pausing from time to time, Dadras also discussed the history of “roadside architecture,” citing the old ice-cream stands, themed motels and Livingston Manor’s “real gem”—the magnificent school, which now stands on the grounds of a plant that once manufactured bowling pins and baseball bats.

Our 30-minute stop at the Catskill Fly Fishing Museum included a private tour before heading to Roscoe, NY and a sneak peek at train expert Charlie Irace’s new displays that will debut in the near future. They exemplify another “Golden Age”—the era of the O&W. We learned of the various families that founded towns like Parksville and Livingston Manor, along with Conway’s retrospect on the 1954 film “White Christmas,” Irving Berlin’s ties to the region, and the evolution of David Daniel Kaminsky into Danny Kaye. Kaye’s career and persona were developed in Sullivan County at the White Roe Lake House, where he refined his trademark routine in the mid-1920s.

While the tour featured two “identical” routes, I’m not sure that the afternoon bus also had passenger and life-long resident Vera Farrell on board to share stories about growing up in historic Morsston, walking back and forth to a one-room schoolhouse and to reminisce about the importance of her hometown, which has fallen off the radar of my generation. On our way back to Liberty and a lovely luncheon prepared by the volunteers at the Museum and Arts Center, we learned about another transition in the timeline: that of the Grossinger family building the magnificent Eden Roc Hotel in Miami Beach, FL and the founders of the Laurels Hotel in Sackett Lake, NY building the equally fantastic Fountainbleu, which also contributed to the popularity of cruise ships, often referred to as the “Catskills on the water.”

After lunch, the Delaware Company’s Executive Director Debra Conway was on hand as President John Conway presided over the organization’s fourth annual awards ceremony, which honored the Navasing Longrifles, costumed re-enactors, and the Narrowsburg Union’s Brendan and Kathy Weiden. As I queried others after the tour, I found that I was not alone in finding it both magical and historically significant. I look forward to boarding again next year for another installment.

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