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8TH ANNUAL HISTORY OF THE CATSKILLS CONFERENCE
August 23 - 25, 2002
Kutsher's Country Club
Monticello, New York
www.kutshers.com

Join us for a wonderful weekend of historical, musical, literary, and cultural presentations on the remarkable legacy of the Jewish experience in the Catskills. Meet Catskills veterans and relive the golden years.

Speakers will include authors who have written about the Catskills, as well as former guests, staff, and entertainers. Among the speakers will be John Weiner, on White Roe Before World War II. John will talk about White Roe, the large and unique adult hotel in Livingston Manor, and he will show film clips from the 1930s and 1940s. Bunny Grossinger will speak on "Remembering Grossingers," and Clarence Steinberg will lead a panel of veteran Catskills farmers speaking about "Our Lives as Jewish Farmers in the Catskills." Phil Brown will read his new short story, "The Boss' Visitor." There will be an opening night event with entertainment by singers and comics from the old days. A special treat this year is an optional bus tour narrated by Irwin Richman, based on his wonderful book Borscht Belt Bungalows. It will allow attendees to trace the path of Catskill resorts, some still standing and others in ruins. Another new feature is a ìspeak-out session,î where participants can do brief presentations of their own histories -- people interested in doing so should contact us ahead of time. Memorabilia and Judaica exhibits will also be featured.

Each year, the conference has been a delightful combination of styles of presentation. Scholars will learn a lot, and non-scholars won't feel like they're at an academic conference. Plus, we always have perfect weather. We begin Friday 6 PM with a cocktail party especially for conference participants, and finish Sunday after lunch.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
FRIDAY
 SATURDAY
 SUNDAY
5-6pm
Registration & Socializing

6-7pm

Cocktail Party for Conference Participants

8:30-8:45pm

Introduction & Welcome to the Conference

8:45-10pm

Speak Out Session: short reminiscences by conference attendees
10-11am
Phil Brown reading his short story "The Boss' Visitor"

11:30am-12:45pm

John Weiner "White Roe Before WWII"

2-5:30pm

3 hour bus tour narrated by Irwin Richman, based on his book Borscht Belt Bungalows (optional, extra cost)

2:30-4pm

Film--A Walk on the Moon

8:30-10pm

Bunny Grossinger, "My Years at Grossingers"
10am-12:15pm
special double session:
  • Clarence Steinberg, co-author of Jewish Farmers of the Catskills "Our Lives as Jewish Farmes in the Catskills"
  • Joe Cohen, long-time manager, Inter County Farmers Cooperative Assoc., "History of the Co-ops
  • Rose Levitz, "Handling hard times and good on 3/4 of a century on Levitz Farms"
  • David Levitz, "Consequences of federal, state, county, & private institutions for Catskill Jewish farmers"
  • David Weiss, "Trouble & Joy--two generation on a Swan Lake dairy farm"

ALL EVENTS TO BE HELD IN THE "LAUNCHING PAD"

Registration begins 5pm Friday & continues throughout the conference.

Conference fee:

Full conference $50; Friday night only $20; Saturday only $25; Sunday only $20; single event $10; bus tour $20 (1/2 price for Catskills Institute Members, except for bus tour). Please preregister with Phil Brown, 4 Goodman Road, Cambridge, MA 02139 (checks payable to Catskills Institute). For more info, email [email protected]
Room rates and reservations:

For room reservations, call Kutsher's: (845) 794-6000 or (800) 431-1273. Please note, you do NOT have to stay at the hotel to attend the conference.

RIDE BOARD

The following people are looking for rides to this year's conference. If you can help out, please email them: