First thing that hits me walking into the new Borscht Belt Museum in Ellenville is the familiar yellow-gold neon “Kutsher’s” sign in script that for decades was located just above the main entrance as visitors pulled up to the famed Catskill resort. 

It’s where Helen Kutsher, the stylishly dressed and impeccably coiffed matriarch of the iconic resort region would stand, offering a “welcome back” warm embrace or a sturdy handshake to her guests who made the often a yearly journey outta the city and up to the mountains. 

A team of bellhops, many of them future doctors, lawyers or just NBA legends like Wilt Chamberlain would unload enough valises from the family car or hired “hack” to fill Macy’s. Afterall, as the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel cried out, there was no such thing as over packing when vacationing in the Catskills.

But only the “K” in the Kutsher’s sign was lit, a fitting reminder that the museum is still a work-in-progress venue for a pop-up exhibition scheduled to remain open throughout the summer for visitors and the curious who may wonder what’s inside the historic Home National Bank on Canal Street, a 1928 Neo-Georgian gem. 

The exhibit showcases mementos and artifacts, actual signs of when the Catskills was the vacation destination. Look up see “The Pines Main Entrance’’ and “LANGERS BUNGALOWS’’ and “The Rosemond House” that alerted folks they had  “ALL MODERN IMPROVEMENTS NEW CONCRETE SWIMMING POOL ON PREMISES.”

Mannequins display daytime outfits the women wore to show their style and the mink stoles worn to just show off - regardless of the heat.  A green waiter’s jacket from Grossinger’s, the lunch menu from the New Roxy Hotel in Loch Sheldrake featuring “Broiled Filet of Brookline Lemon-Sole’’ and a Small Fry dinner menu from the Concord Hotel children’s dining room with the chef recommending Southern Fried Chicken.  

“It’s a slice of Americana and it’s essential that we remember the impact this area had on so many lives,”said Peter Alan Chester of Monticello, treasurer of the museum’s board who worked in dining rooms at various resorts including the Grand Mountain Hotel in Greenfield Park and the Aladdin in Woodbourne. “These places gave people so many opportunities, who otherwise may have passed through society and not accomplished anything.” 

Brochures, pictures and videos help to document the Catskill’s heyday but the real stories of what came from those lived the era.

Walking around with his family, Steve Kaufman, operator of P.N. Alarm in Monticello, said it’s hard for his grandchildren to relate to what so many considered the best days of their lives. 

“To stay in a bungalow with no air conditioning, three people sleep in one bedroom, one bathroom...they have a hard time understanding why that was so great,” Steve explained. “It’s important to keep telling them the stories.”

Growing up his family ran Kaufman’s Hillway View Cottages, a bungalow colony with over 100 units, a nightclub (called a casino), full-service grocery store, lunchette and an outdoor and indoor pool. “One year my grandmother said, ‘we should have an indoor pool, The Concord has an indoor pool.’ And the next year we had an indoor pool.” 

His mom, Phyllis Kaufman ran the grocery store and wanted to share a story: “We had a notebook on the counter and when people would shop they’d write down what the amount was on their page. I closed around one because we’d be busy playing cards or mahjong. But if someone had unexpected company they’d come to me and I’d give them the key. They open the store, take what they need and write it down on their page. You just trusted everybody. And everybody trusted everybody else.”

Looking back at the exhibits, Phyllis hopes the museum can be a reminder for future generations. “It was a lifestyle, the attitude of the people, it was one family. It was a very peaceful way of life. I thought it would never end.”

Borscht Belt Fest debuts on July 29 in Ellenville for a celebration of comedy, culture and cuisine. For tickets and information visit: www.borschtbeltmuseum.org.

Barry Lewis is a longtime journalist and author who lives with his wife Bonnie in the Town of Neversink. He can be reached at      barrylewisscdemocrat@gmail.com.