Mountain Rats were typically NY high school and college kids ( mostly boys at that time ) that spent the summers working in the mountains. These were the Catskill Mountains aka Borscht Belt, The Mountains, The Catskills, Jewish Catskills,or The Country. Like myself, these were kids that grew up somewhere in NYC and didn't know what grass was until they were 13 or went to their first Yankees game.
Oh, you didn't really think I was talking about real rats now, did you ? The Mountains were wonderful. There were jobs for all who wanted to work as bus boys, waiters, bellman, camp directors, and anything and everything that was connected to the hundreds of small and larger hotels that comprised the mountains. There was also some jobs for girls that usually involved working in the day camp that all the hotels had for the kids. Of course the mountains we knew were Monticello, Liberty, Woodbourne, Fallsburg, Hurlyville, and a bunch of other names that you would not remember. Working there was like a free summer away and we would come home with at least one thousand dollars. (that was money way back then). It was great working 7 days a week, getting no sleep, running out late every single night looking for girls... FYI......back then, husbands and wives and kids would come up to the mountains for about 2 weeks....BUT......the husbands would go back to work in the city and leave Sunday afternoon only to return the following Friday night.....That was how it worked then. So , there were always some of these older women (age 30) that liked to play during the week and most of the mountain staff who were young and single were always there to help out. It was wonderful.
I can go on for hours on end telling you all the great things about the mountains and how much fun it was. On our time off we went swimming, played ball and did all kinds of normal things kids did back then. All the big hotels had basketball teams that came up from the city.. Many a famous basketball star was seen there. Famous comedians and entertainers always appeared like Jerry Lewis, Milton Berle, Alan King etc. Bands got their start along with many other famous entertainers that I will save for another day.
The hotels were wonderful and always booked to capacity. The towns were small and quaint. The night clubs in the hotels ranged from small casinos to large fancy rooms. There was plenty of entertainment, great food, outdoor sports, large pools, great weather, and more, and only 3 or 4 hours drive from NY. (this was before NY State Thruway) . Everything about it was wonderful, exciting, and had the same families going back year after year. In fact as some of the hotels, people would book their rooms for the following year. The owners of these hotels knew most regulars and treated them like family. It was truly the Jewish Mountains. And I was one of those lucky Mountain Rats to work there during high school and college summers....................But then...........Like everything else..............It came to an abrupt end.............How????? Why??????? Huh?????? Europe and new Jets that would take people there in only 7 hours. Affordable travel and places to travel too........Families no longer went to the mountains................They left it for other places............RIP mountains............Look at the following links to some great videos showing the remains of some of these once glorious hotels.The Pines Hotel Another Pines Remains video and this link to Phil Browns book "Catskill Culture" a mountain rats guide Catskill Culture Book..
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