Kutshers hosts a century of Catskill memories

MONTICELLO, NY — The Catskills Institute will hold its 12th annual History of the Catskills Conference from August 25 through August 27 at Kutsher’s Country Club.

For most of the 20th century, the Catskills each summer was the summer home for between a half million and one million Jews who incorporated music, humor, vaudevillian entertainment, cuisine, language and Jewish identity to create a resort culture unmatched by any other ethnic group in history.

“The Catskills is such a large part of Jewish identity in America,” said Phil Brown, head of the institute, whose parents owned what is now the Bradstan Country Hotel in White Lake during the 1940s and 1950s. “Each year, we try to revive those great memories and to preserve this treasured past through presenters who helped make that history or who have shined light on the legacy through films, books, music and comedy.”

There will be comedy performances, presenters speaking about the resort experience, and a slide show of Catskills history accompanied by live music. Conference participants will also take a three-hour bus tour to explore the “living archeology” of the Catskills resorts.

Presenters include Jackie Horner, inspiration for “Dirty Dancing”, Filmmaker Joan Micklin Silver, and Klezmer revival leader Henry Sapoznik.

For more information call 617/354-6138 or 823-5119.