TRAVEL
The Day The
Mountains Wept
The day Grossinger's, the flagship of the Borscht
Belt, died was the day an era ended.
STEFAN KANFER
Special to The Jewish News
B
efore World War I.
European emigres
Selig and Malke
Grossinger bought a farm in
the Catskill Mountains in
upstate New York with a
downpayment of $450. But,
business boomed between
the World Wars when a grow-
ing number of Jewish im-
migrants sought relief from
the dusty streets of New
York's Lower East Side.
With the help of their
daughter, Jennie, Gross-
inger's became the most
successful of the kosher re-
sorts in the Catskills, the
only establishment to be-
come a brand name, even
during the worst years of
the 1930s.
Its expansion was due to
an infallible sense of timing,
and a personal hospitality
that bordered on self-
destruction. When an em-
ployee was observed
pocketing a handful of bills
from an open cash register,
Malke told the informer,
"Don't get excited. So he's
stealing. Maybe he needs
the money. A bissel fur ihm
and a bissel for uns — a little
for him and a little for us. -
•YC
C1721nev II IMP 70 1Q0C1
Mrs. "G" and the stars: Jenny brought Broadway to the Mountains. Above, Jenny with Danny Kaye (left) and Red Buttons.
Luck touched every phase
of the Grossingers' work.
When Eddie Cantor heard of
the Grossingers' increasing
profits, he urged the family
to buy into the stock mar-
ket. "I have everything I
could raise in it, - he told
them. "So does Al Jolson,
George Jessel... a year from
now we'll all be million-
aires.
Selig resisted. ''All I
want," he said, "is a golf
course."
The Grossinger family de-
cided to honor Selig and for-
get about the market. Black
Tuesday came and went. and
while others were ruined.
Grossinger's had cash on
hand. The dream of golf had
saved the family fortune.
The course was completed
in the early 1930s, and
Jennie regarded it as a sig-
nal for further alterations.
She reminded her father,
We're not only a hotel, but
a country club. It's time to
act more dignified. No more
milk lines at the barn. Peo-
ple can get all the milk they
want from the kitchen. And
for the prices they pay, the
people who come to us aren't
boarders anymore. They're
guests, just as if they were
at the Waldorf. -
Selig promised to bear it
in mind when he made his
dedication speech. But when
the old man looked down at
the familiar faces he had
seen each summer. he
blurted out, "I was suppos-
ed to tell you that this is for
the pleasure of our guests.
But when I look around me,
-
I don't see any fancy guests.
I see all my old boarders. It
was you who made it possi-
ble to build it, and this golf
course is for you, our boar-
ders...
It was Selig Grossinger's
last public address: he died
that December.
By 1932. money was grow-
ing scarce and visitors
shortened the length of their
stays. Some confessed that
the Crash had wiped them
out. Jennie assured them
they could pay - when things
got better. - It was an act of
faith. Nothing appeared to
be improving in the Moun-
tains. Like many hotels,
Grossinger's adjusted its
rates downward. It was now
barely breaking even.
Around the Catskills, ho-
tel bankruptcies and fore-
closures became common-
place. According to a survey
of about 1,000 resort opera-
tors, "90 percent of the ho-
tels in Sullivan and Ulster
[counties] were in straits. -
During the period when so
many hotels were collapsing,
Jennie received a disturbing
letter from a restaurant
equipment dealer with
whom the family had done
business for years. "Dear
Mrs. Grossinger," it began.
"We have had numerous let-
ters asking us what we know
about the Grossinger family
having gone into bankrupt-
cy. We are replying with the
following note: 'The Gross-
ingers have always paid
their bills on time. But this
year, they have paid their
bills ahead of time.' May we
continue to be of service?"
The note was meant to be
reassuring. The owners were
not soothed. Even a whisper
of insolvency could be ruin-
ous. They mailed out cards
that read: "There is a rumor
about that Grossinger's has
gone bankrupt. Please pay
no attention to it. There is
absolutely no truth to it. We
are open as always and look
forward to welcoming you
on your next visit."
At the end of the summer,
the rumors were traced to