Kutsher's neon sign making its way from an LI basement back to the Borscht Belt
For decades, a giant neon "Kutsher's" sign welcomed guests to one the most recognizable of the "Borscht Belt" Catskill Mountains resorts as they poured in to see Joan Rivers, Woody Allen or Jerry Seinfeld perform on stage.
While Kutsher's Hotel and Country Club closed its doors in 2013, the 12-by-4 foot sign has quietly made its home in the East Meadow garage of Scott Eckers, the final performer at the Monticello resort.
On Friday, Eckers, 42, donated the iconic sign to the organizers of a planned Catskills resort museum that's designed to educate the public about a bygone era where more than a million people per year flocked to the area's 500 summer getaways.
"Lots of people can now wax nostalgic about their experiences in the Catskills," said Eckers, an East Meadow school board member and Great Neck High School social studies teacher who continues to sing across the region, including in the Catskills. "When they see this [sign] they can teach their children about it and it can become the centerpiece of a display. And that's where it belongs."
'Take my wife — please'
Kutsher's was the longest operating family-owned Catskills resort, which became a population destination for the Northeast Jewish community after World War II, particularly during the summer months, as people sought to escape the sweltering heat of New York City before the invention of air conditioning.
The hotel, which served unlimited Kosher meals, had an indoor swimming pool and an 18-hole golf course and was part of the “Borscht Belt,” named after the beet soup commonly found in Jewish cuisine.
In its heyday, from about the 1950s through the early 1970s, Kutsher's was home to high-profile entertainers, including Dean Martin, Louis Armstrong, Mel Brooks, Jackie Mason, Milton Berle, Billy Crystal and, of course, Henny Youngman.
Charity basketball tournaments at Kutsher's would attract top talent, including Wilt Chamberlain — who worked there once as a bellhop — while top boxers such as Muhammad Ali, Floyd Patterson, Rocky Marciano and Leon Spinks trained at the resort.
While some believe Kutsher's was the inspiration for the 1987 film "Dirty Dancing," about a teenager who falls for a dance teacher while on vacation with her family in the 1960s, Eckers said that honor belongs to nearby Grossinger's resort, which closed in 1986.
Isaac Jeffreys, the planned museum's scholar in residence, said the Kutsher's sign is the embodiment of the Borscht Belt era.
"It's a beautiful shade of yellow that was almost like a golden arch," said Jeffreys, a photographer and Catskills historian. "When you saw it, you knew that you were at a country club and you knew you were going to have the time of your life, regardless of what year it was … And this sign is one of the last remaining poignant artifacts of that time period that's living and breathing still and represents so much. It's just one of the few that still exists."
Marisa Scheinfeld, a board member for the yet-unnamed museum, said the sign could become a "centerpiece" for the facility.
"We're hoping that this is a cultural center that honors the history of the Catskills and the resorts, the bungalow colonies and the Borscht Belt era, while preserving its legacy for the future," Scheinfeld said. "And also being a place where future generations, beyond the Baby Boomers, find intrigue and interest."
A bygone era revisited
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
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