Berry-picking, Swimming and Hypnosis
Rose Smeenk

The first time I went up to the Catskills was with my family to a koch-a-line. Our belongings were packed on to a neighbor’s old car and we traveled to a farm house where we had one room and shared a community kitchen. It was so crowded in the room that one night I escaped to a hammock and created a scare for my family, until my brother found me and dumped me unceremoniously on the ground. We went berry-picking, swimming in a small near by river and created our own entertainment at night, such as camp fires, funny dress-ups and sing-alongs.

The second time was when my father and uncle had a ‘Society’ weekend. This time it was fancy, at the Nevele Hotel. I remember the lavish food spread at breakfast and the huge meals at lunch and dinner. One evening the entertainer was a hypnotist. He chose me, my uncle and several others to go on stage. I was told that I gave an extravagant rendition of Mae West, sexily thrusting my 18-year-old body as I strutted around the stage. When I awoke, still on stage, I saw my uncle, still hypnotized, sucking his thumb and lisping a rhyme in his native Russian. It was fascinating how each performer was under the hypnotist’s power.

The third time was when my girlfriend and I went up for our two week vacation. We extended our wardrobes by borrowing each other’s clothing and jewelry. Most of the young folks spent their time at swimming pool, girls showing off their two piece bathing suits (not quite bikinis) and flirting with the opposite sex. We danced ‘til midnight and slept late in the mornings. Occasionally we played tennis, when we could get a court. We could also get bicycles to ride. The most important thing was the success we had by actually having dates in the city with the young men we met at the hotel. However these relationships were not long-lasting because so many of the young men had to enlist or were drafted for the service.

The last time I was at the Nevele was with my bride groom, a Sea Bea, on leave for the week. We were planning on spending the weekend there but when he showed up dressed in his sailor uniform, the registrar said that they honor servicemen by giving them two free days. This was heaven for us and, we took full advantage of all the facilities.

We were never able to get back there, with his being in Okinawa. After his safe return we needed to find a place to live and jobs. We no longer could afford a vacation in the Catskills.