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Apologies for not being able to get to this post sooner ... I promised I'd post your pictures, so here they are ... along with some excerpts of emails that I received .. hope you like 'em.
Note, I heard a rumor that the Pardess Bungalow colony (where we meet before trekking back to the Capitol Inn) is up for sale ... so who knows how and when we can do this again ... as I learn more, you'll learn more, ok?
Thanks! And happy holidays (better early than forgetting as I know I would!)
:) boynot
from Helene Eisenberg Smagala
Dear Friends of Capital Inn:
When my family and work mates ask about my week in New York I can only come up with one word – magical! They assume I mean it metaphorically but in fact there really was plenty of ‘other world’ stuff going on.
Example number one: On Wednesday Roy and I stepped outside his apartment, walked around the corner and who should be serenading us on the street? Why it’s Paul McCartney singing ‘Revolution’. Tell me that’s not magic.
Example number two: Last week the weather forecast called for rain every day and yet the sun kept shining its glorious face. The one time that it did rain was ~10:00 p.m. on Friday night making our (i.e. Roy and my) cheapest Paul McCartney seats in City-Fields the most valuable. Sitting 8 rows from the top we were among the very few of the tens of thousands in the Stadium who were dry because of the top overhang. Furthermore, being there at the concert was magic in and of itself. Just ask Bernie. (These would be examples number three and four.)
But even if these things didn’t happen at all, last Sunday in the Catskills was oozing with marvels, miracles and magic all day long.
Stopping en route at the diner Roy, Howie and I enjoyed delicious egg creams and discovered that Howie correctly knew the secret of how to make them perfectly – ‘bank the selzer off the back side of the spoon!’ Magic!!
Returning to the car, low and behold, a water gun appears magically in my hand and finally (after 44 years) I get even with Roy and Howie.
Then one by one I meet friends I’ve held dear in my heart for all those years and now again I get to see them, this time as beautiful, full grown, gently matured grown-ups. Can you imagine? Barbara Zysberg was 3 when I knew her – the pet and charm of the lower bungalows. Now with grown children of her own she spoke to me and gave back all the interest and adoration we had shown to her in the past. Beautiful Barbara was 11 and much too young for me to play with in ’65. After all I was 12! I wanted to hang with Toby – we all did, she was so lovely. But Toby was 13 and so popular. I was definitely not in her league. Yet on Sunday there I am under the Catskill blue sky, hanging and talking with still beautiful Toby and Barbara and they are no longer fighting but affectionate, Barbara with a granddaughter of her own.
The Berger boys, Sheldon, Gary and Mark were so thoughtful as to arrange for enough family members to attend so that those of us who wanted a genuine makeshift pick-up game of baseball (in other words Roy and I) could enjoy it like in the olden days but this time with young David, Ronan and Akiva. Magically, I could still hit the ball. Thank you ‘Berger Boys’.
Paul was the baby of the Feder family, among my Aunt’s closest friends. Now the baby is a lawyer, married to a lovely woman and with a daughter about to be Bat Mitzvahed. It was marvelous to hear all about them.
Neal, the hero of my youth, arrived in an emergency vehicle, clearly still a hero now to many more than me. How wonderful it was to talk with him again. And for all of us who desperately wanted to see Mark, well Neal arranged for a remarkable facsimile by bringing along his eldest son, Adam, a Mark-look-alike if ever we saw one. If that’s not magic enough, this will convince you: Adam tolerated our attentions and nostalgia as though he were enjoying himself too. What a mench!
Wasn’t it a miracle that Bernie made it to the reunion at all, seeing as he was so spent after the McCartney concert? And who could believe their eyes when he instructed Toby on the correct execution of that card trick? Just like Houdini!
Folks, there really was a Miriam! I watched her take care of her little brother Mayer in the pool, attending to the proper wearing of a kipah while swimming. Miriam is now a beautiful grown-up observant woman attending to all the religious rituals of her family – not just kipahs.
And Lonnie who I didn’t know from before – well I liked him too!! It was a colony of amazing people.
My final words are about the biggest marvel of all – the old Capital Inn site itself. To me the place looked lovely. It remains with many of the landmarks of our childhood still in place, if not intact. One bungalow and the old main house still stand. The fields are covered with wild grass, in places long enough to scratch and tickle my shins - just like before. There are plenty of the original apple trees. The back forest remains, cool and tall with erupting rocks and the floor clear of underbrush. Can you blame me for bringing home a rock from that forest? It now lies in my garden, a piece of the Capital Inn with me here in Canada.
It was wonderful being there! Thank you all for keeping me company – then and now.
Most sincerely,
Helene Eisenberg Smagala
from Rosette Lederman Ben-Benyamin
I'm so sorry that I couldn't come this year, especially after seeing your pictures. I still get a pang in my heart looking at the bungalows. I'm hoping and praying we can do it next year with the California/Phoenix crowd.
Bernard thanks for including me in your e-mails.
from Neal Flomenbaum
Dear Bernie,
Thanks for helping organize another smashing reunion. Both have been very uplifting experiences and have given me an even greater appreciation for the "boys (and girls) of summer" and of the terrific adults they (we) turned out to be. I'll e-mail my pictures to you ASAP and continue the hunt for Pauline - I'll leave no railroad tie in our apartment unturned, until I find her and bring her back (to your website) alive. (I was a little worried on Sunday because you seemed tired, I gather from your "concerted" efforts to get home in the early morning hours before the reunion.) In any case, please keep in touch and thanks once again for helping to enrich my life.
from Barbara Zysberg Rice
Hi everyone,
Just had to drop a note to all that were there yesterday, wasn't it nice!! Special thanks to Markie, Bernie, Lonnie and everyone that made the day as special as it was. Sorry I missed some of you as I left yesterday but wanted you to know I loved seeing everyone. Looking forward to the next one.
from Terry Cukier Slavins
I agree with Barbara...it was really special seeing everyone. Looking forward to next yr!
from Adina Rafeld
Just returned from TelAviv. I will not be able to get Sunday off from work, so I will not be able to attend. I had to make a choice, TelAviv or Reunion. Sorry you lost out.
from Sid Nachman
Sorry for the late reply ---but as it turns out we are attending a baby naming on Sunday (very close family friends) ; have a great time and keep this going I know I will make it sooner or later. Have a great time at McCartney's concert.
from Miriam and Morris Wisniewski
Thanks for the invite to the reunion Morris and I are unable to attend. I was there last weekend, have a great time and hugs and kisses, to everyone............
from Spencer Seidman
How are you doing. Unfortunately I will not be coming-need to work-Arnie may make me unemployed for a while like last year. Please give my love to everyone.
from Helen Messer Miller
So sorry that we will miss the second reunion!! Harold, arlene, scott and I are on vacation that weekend and the following week.
we hope that you all have a great time!!
from Helen Blufarb and Miriam Behar
Sorry, Helen Blufarb and Miriam Behar will not be able to come. We are having company that weekend. Have fun at the reunion. Maybe we'll see all of you next year.
from Harold Messer
Sorry for not responding sooner, but our summer plans are still up in the air, and I accidentally deleted your previous e-mail, so I hope this address is still valid. Any way, for now that date looks good, and if anything changes, I'll let you know. Hope all is well !
--- and then ---
Sorry we can't make it again this year, and I have to apologize profusely, because I received extreme guilt from Dr. Mark, since I guess I supposedly picked the date for the event. Anyway, I'll try to figure out some way to make up for it. Hope you all have a great time, and will try again next year. Cheers !!
Harold (and Arlene)
from Jerry Lefkowitz
Sorry but I won't be able to make it. Try to have a good time without me!
from Linda Bronner Seidenstein
Sorry, Bernie. I have a wedding in NJ. Enjoy. Regards to Shelly. Take care.
from Renee Bronner Pessin
Sorry Bernie, I’ll be in Italy. I’ll think of you all:-)
from Morty Eisenberg
I'm sorry that I won't be able to make it this year. Hopefully, there will be another opportunity. 43 years is a long time to go without touching base with my "American cousins". Best regards,
And about whether Morty still looks like he did in the 'pyramid' picture:
43 years has a way of changing people, often not for the better (except Sean Connery). If you are referring to the picture of the human pyramid, my sister forwarded it to me. Boy, did that bring back memories! Nice chatting with you - keep in touch - Morty
P.S.- I legally changed my name to Morty over 20 years ago. Couldn't bear to go through life as Morton.
from Ira Wafel
Can’t make it this year. I had a great time last year and appreciate your efforts in holding together the Capitol Inn community and our Catskills heritage. Please say hi to Mark Berger, Lonny, Howie Rothblatt and everybody else.
from Marty Wisniewski
Next Sunday is camp visiting day and we won't be able to make it. Have a great time.
from Garry Lederman
So sorry I can't make it. I'll be on a cruise in the Caribbean. :-(
from Allan Evenas
Well, once again, I'm so sorry that I won't be able to attend this year. Business continues to be dreadful and until the economy picks up, we are staying put! I hope by next year we will all be able to come to NY and not only join the reunion, but spend some wonderful sightseeing time with the kids!
Think of me as you are all gathered by the Capitol Inn sign taking a picture. I can still smell the lit punks and fireworks in the big field and I imagine myself sitting on Slide Rock eating some wild blueberries!
from Harry Feder
Not sure what our plans are for next week. Thanks for keeping me up to date!
rumored to be the inspiration for the successful Coen brothers film makers. The 4 minute classic film was found in its original cardboard box together with eight other 4 minute epics in a very old Ziploc bag. Although one of the other 8mm reels apparently also contains rare footage of the Capitol Inn in 1963, the older Flomenbaum advises caution: "The film appears to be rather dark and extremely fragile, with at least one break at the beginning that will have to be repaired before it can be transferred to modern digital media and viewed." It will probably take at least two weeks before it can be determined whether the images have survived in any form other than the participants' collective memories.
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