There were Jewish hotels in 100 miles north of Montreal in a small community. The hotels were roughly from 1920’s to 1950’s. These were very rustic hotels (no en suite bathrooms) and catered to kosher Jews from New York and Montreal. There were three hotels one was owned by my great uncle Morris Rabinovitch. It was called the REEL FRENS INN. Uncle Morris had a small dry good store, including an infamous pinball machine. The hotel closed down although it remained in the family in 1951. Two other hotels existed in the same area. One of the owners put up a dance hall where my father met my mother who was from Montreal. He was from New York in 1929. This was a gathering place for friends and family that was much loved. They also had a windmill that pumped water up to the second floor of the hotel that’s how simple this building these buildings were.
great, stuff...Jews went to the resorts to the heat of summers in NY....later, with the airlines they could vacation in Miami et at, though there also developed the notion of snowbirds.
But if resorts were a venue for comedians, radio, film, and tv also evolved and offered work for Jewish comics.
Young people today might sense the smaller resorts if they see the film A Walk On the Moon., starring Diane Lane and Vigo Mortenstern. I had the pleasure of seeing a play no one seems to know about called Wish You Were Here, a musical set at a resort, with its --of course--love affair(s). That play had a huge swimming pool built into the stage and people would dive into the pool during the performance.
As noted in the nice note below, there were others places that catered to Jewish folks interested in nice summer vacations, and I had worked at one such place in Ct for two or three summers. There was another larger resort in Ct where a few of my friends worked, and that place even had horses for riding.
What does this tell us then? Jews sought the company of other Jews for a shared culture and safety.
There were Jewish hotels in 100 miles north of Montreal in a small community. The hotels were roughly from 1920’s to 1950’s. These were very rustic hotels (no en suite bathrooms) and catered to kosher Jews from New York and Montreal. There were three hotels one was owned by my great uncle Morris Rabinovitch. It was called the REEL FRENS INN. Uncle Morris had a small dry good store, including an infamous pinball machine. The hotel closed down although it remained in the family in 1951. Two other hotels existed in the same area. One of the owners put up a dance hall where my father met my mother who was from Montreal. He was from New York in 1929. This was a gathering place for friends and family that was much loved. They also had a windmill that pumped water up to the second floor of the hotel that’s how simple this building these buildings were.
Alexandra Vozick Hans
Thank you so much for sharing! Great history
“Take my husband, please”
great, stuff...Jews went to the resorts to the heat of summers in NY....later, with the airlines they could vacation in Miami et at, though there also developed the notion of snowbirds.
But if resorts were a venue for comedians, radio, film, and tv also evolved and offered work for Jewish comics.
Young people today might sense the smaller resorts if they see the film A Walk On the Moon., starring Diane Lane and Vigo Mortenstern. I had the pleasure of seeing a play no one seems to know about called Wish You Were Here, a musical set at a resort, with its --of course--love affair(s). That play had a huge swimming pool built into the stage and people would dive into the pool during the performance.
As noted in the nice note below, there were others places that catered to Jewish folks interested in nice summer vacations, and I had worked at one such place in Ct for two or three summers. There was another larger resort in Ct where a few of my friends worked, and that place even had horses for riding.
What does this tell us then? Jews sought the company of other Jews for a shared culture and safety.
Loved learning the history of the borscht belt !!
I love reading and learning more history from your columns. Thanks for the time and work it takes doing the research.
Guy Frazier
Thank you so much for reading!