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Ellis Island Wall Of Honor Pays Tribute To Immigrants
By MIRIAM WEINER
immigrants found themselves in the
Ellis Island, the gateway for
ground floor baggage room, where
immigrant ancestors of nearly 100
they deposited their belongings
million Americans, is the site for a
before climbing the stairs to the
new museum scheduled to open in
Great Hall for the dreaded medical
1989. The Ellis Island Immigration
examination which would determine
Museum will be the nation's leading
if they stayed or returned.
institution dedicated to American
For the immigrant who passed
immigrants and is expected to draw
the medical inspection, the next
1.5 million visitors a year. With
100,000 square feet of exhibit space, hurdle was the legal inspectors who
asked about 30 questions in
it will be New York's third largest
museum.
Each exhibit will highlight a
particular aspect of the immigration
experience. In recognition of our
country's heritage as a people of
By GARY ROSENBLATT
many pasts, a special exhibit in the
Editor
museum called The American
The 1893 Rand McNally
Immigrant Wall of Honor has been
Guide
to the Catskill Mountains
created to pay public tribute to the
of
Sullivan
County, New York,
varied origins of all Americans.
reported
that
Tannersville was "a
The American Immigrant Wall
great resort of our Israelite
of Honor, on which immigrant
brethren, who love to gather
forebears' names can be inscribed
where
they can be together."
with a donation to The Statue of
What
better way to describe,
Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc.,
albeit formally, the phenomenon
will be a centerpiece of the
of the Catskill resorts, alias the
museum. It will be located just off
Jewish
Alps, where city Jews
the Great Hall and adjacent to the
came
to
enjoy the fresh air and
historic Registry Room. A unique
abundant,
home-cooked food.
area devoted to an exhibit of names
And
to
laugh.
of all national origins, it will be a
By the 1940s, what had once
collective display, representing the
been
grazing land was filled with
individual family heritages that
hotels,
resorts and
created the history of America.
boardinghouses,
with more than
It is the first opportunity to
500
of
them
employing
place the name of an immigrant
entertainers. Virtually every
ancestor or an individual's family
famous
Jewish comedian of the
name on permanent public display
last generation got his start in the
at a national monument.
Catskills either as a stand-up
The museum will use innovative
comic,
like Henny Youngman,
displays that feature historic artifacts
Milton
Berle
and Myron Cohen,
and photos, interactive devices,
or
as
a
tummler,
a Yinglish word
computers and taped reminiscences
for
one
who
creates
a tumult.
of the immigrants themselves.
The tummler was a social
Upon arrival at Ellis Island,
director/clown whose job it was to
sacrifice taste and discretion to
distract the guests and get a
laugh.
Their ranks included Mel
Brooks, Sid Caesar, Joey Bishop,
Jerry Lewis, Jan Murray, Alan
King and Buddy Hackett; and
Wednesday, Jan. 4
collectively they created that wild,
The Jewish Experiences for Families
creative, crude brand of ethnic
Committee at Congregation Beth Shalom will
zaniness known at Borscht Belt
have a general meeting at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 4
humor.
at the synagogue.
The rise and almost-fall of
Friday, Jan. 13
the
Catskills
is a microcosm of
The Birmingham Temple will have a Tu
the
American
Jewish experience
B'Shevat family service at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 13
at the temple. Students of the temple school
in the 20th century. The area
will present a program of songs, dances,
began to attract summer visitors
poetry, drama, trees for Israel and Zionist
in the early part of the century,
tributes.
hard-working Jews who could
Friday-Sunday, Jan. 20-22
afford $20 or $25 a week to get
Congregation Beth Shalom's J.E.F.F.
the wife and kids out of the grimy
committee will have a Tu B'Shevat family
New York City heat and into the
celebration Jan. 20-22 at the Butzel
fresh air of the country. That's
Conference Center. Theme for the weekend
English. Among the questions: What
is your name? Where were you
born? Where are you coming from?
Where are you going? Have you
been in the United States before?
Do you have any relatives here?
Where do they live? Who paid for
your passage?
The answers to these questions
are of vital interest to family
historians who want to know what
the family name was in the old
country and who are intrigued by
the vast amount of data contained
in these historic documents and
interviews..
For information about The
American Immigrant Wall of Honor,
contact The Statue of Liberty-Ellis
Island Foundation, Inc., 52
Vanderbilt Ave., New York, NY
10017. (212) 883-1986.
The Rise And Almost-Fall Of The Jewish Alps
i tit tit teo &, #'6
loisitt c '
is "Finding Your Jewish Identity."
L - 12
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1988
when the boardinghouses began
to flourish, followed, on their
success, by larger hotels like the
Concord, the Nevele and
Grosinger's.
During the days there were
swimming and card games and
dance lessons and in the
evenings — especialy weekends
when the man of the house
traveled "up to The Mountains"
from the city to join his family —
there were stage shows best
known for their broad, burlesque-
style humor, with a Jewish twist.
This was "us vs. them" kind of
humor, a modern-day shtetl brand
that combined Yiddish language
and American expressiveness. It
unflinchingly mocked the Jewish
effort to assimilate and become
part of the middle class, but it did
so with affection. After all, the
comedians themselves were in
the same boat.
The heydays lasted through
the 1940s and 1950s, when
modernity encroached upon the
quaint, heimish style. The New
York State Thruway made the
area more accessible, airline
travel was becoming available to
the middle class, and television
began to spread the magic of
Borscht Belt humor across
America.
Jewish humor became safer
and mainstream, though Alan
King notes, "Jewish humor didn't
change. The country changed."
So did the Catskills. Many of
the smaller boardinghouses and
hotels could not compete. Comics
flew in for a one-night or
weekend performance rather than
work for the whole season (the
summer).
The trends accelerated in the
1960s, '70s and 80s, as Jews
assimilated and became less
ethnic, less interested in a
pervasively Jewish atmosphere.
And with Zero Population Growth,
there were fewer, and smaller
Jewish families to vacation
together. Air fares allowed middle
class people to fly to Bermuda or
Europe for the same money they
might be spending in a plush
Catskills resort.
As a result, there has been a
decline among the Catskills
resorts, symbolized by the closing
of Grosingers' several years ago.
Owners began to talk about the
need for gambling to rejuvenate
the region, and the billboards
along Route 17 urged citizens to
vote for casinos. More recentlly,
the owners banded together to
create a new advertising
campaign de-emphasizing the
Jewish flavor of the resorts.
There are fewer kosher
hotels and less ethnic cuisine.
When Grosinger's reopens next
spring, it is scheduled to have a
kosher restaurant as well as a
variety of other kinds of eateries.
But kaddish for the Catskills
is premature. A visitor can still
find Jewish enclaves and hear
echoes of countless Jewish jokes
in the cool, clear air of the
evenings, still find "Israelite
brethren who love to gather
where they can be together."
Grand Canyon, Raft
Trip Scheduled
A Kosher Canyon Run, a
13-day, white water rafting trip
through the Grand Canyon, is
planned for July 18-30.
The trip, which will be
accompanied by a rabbi and
cantor, will include the singing of
Jewish songs, study, services,
Israeli dancing, Shabbat
observance and kosher food.
Cost of the trip is $1,495. A
$200 deposit is required. The trip
is limited to 21 persons. For
brochure and details, write Roby
James, 7024, Sylvia Ave.,
Reseda, Calif. 91335.