KIAMESHA LAKE

 The history of Breezy Corners as told by Sheryl Cashin, grand daughter of founders of the bungalow colony. 

"When my grandmother bought this property in 1942, friends and family thought she was absolutely crazy.  How could she possibly do this… but she was determined to be successful, and with that vision

she built Breezy Corners  Bungalow Colony from one existing Main House , to include over 50 additional bungalows, along with a luncheonette, grocery store, bar, nightclub, day camp, basketball courts, handball courts, playground, Olympic size pool, and of course the kitty shaped pool for the younger children. It took a lot of perseverance and hard work but it was a successful venture,  and over 35 years of proud ownership. 

I know that my grandparents would be very pleased that Breezy Corners Bungalow Colony is being recognized this evening. I know I speak for them when I say Thank You to all involved in making this possible.

For myself, visiting this property is always a little bitter sweet. After all, these are my childhood summer memories filled with day camp , swimming in the pool, color wars, and picture day where we all wore our Breezy Corners T -shirts exactly like the one I’m wearing this evening. 

We went Salamander  hunting in the woods, played pinball machines, the jukebox , and on occasion, a friendly game of pool. 

On weekends we went horseback riding at Steve’s Riding Academy. 

They picked us up in an old beat up station wagon where we all piled in , no seat belts, sitting on each other’s laps with the driver smoking his cigarette. 

We had Movie nights  in the nightclub where at 8 years old, I saw the movie Wait Until Dark and was so scared that I didn’t sleep alone for the rest of the summer. Probably wasn’t the best decision on my parent’s part! 

We even had the occasional bear that would wander onto the property from the woods and cause a little chaos and excitement. 

And those  food trucks!!!

Victor the fruit man who would announce his arrival on the loudspeaker ( by the way, Victor put two sons through medical school selling that fruit) , Chinese food from the chow chow cup, the knish man , Shimmy the pickle king who started out making pickles in his basement in Passaic NJ …the family is now third generation and still making those pickles today! 

Then there was the summer of July 1969 when promoters reached out to my grandmother to enquire about using her nightclub property to host rock bands.  This became what was called The Revolution. 

Performers included Ten Years After, Savoy Brown, Jethro Tull, and Mountain . 

This of course was followed by the nearby Woodstock festival in August, which my then 18 year old sister attended and still has her ticket today… because they never collected them. 

 And last but not least, but SO important…

The big rock that sits near the parking area of the Alder hotel .. right over there behind the three parked cars.. 

It isn’t just a rock, it’s where the campers assembled to eat their ice cream every day, where friends would gather as a meeting point. 

The camp house and playground were directly behind it, the pool and my Bungalow 

number 27 close by. 

It’s the starting point for all the former Breezy Corners Bungalow Colony alumni who visit Resorts World to stand on the rock and envision where everything was located then and compare it to now. EVERYONE looks for THE ROCK! 

So you see… When I’m visiting this property, I don’t see a casino and hotel when I drive down Resorts world Drive, I see Joyland Rd. 

I see the “Welcome To Breezy Corners Bungalow Colony” Sign..  

 I see my childhood  memories, and I remember that no matter what physical changes have taken place, for me and everyone who loved Breezy Corners, it will always remain that way in our minds. "

The Gibber Hotel in Kiamesha Lake - as told by the grandchild of the owners…

“Like so many others, Hotel Gibber started off as something else entirely before morphing into a quintessential Borscht Belt hotel. After emigrating from Russia, Joseph and Anne Gibber moved with their three sons from urban New Jersey to bucolic Kiamesha Lake. They started a small farm and began to host family members who also wanted respite from the oppressive heat of city life during the summer months.

The story goes that life became more about hosting the “guests” than working the farm - without any financial reward. The young Gibber boys gave their father an ultimatum: start charging the guests for food and lodging or they would venture off to make their own way in the world. As the family grew to include Abe and Rose’s son Harold and Charles and Mary’s daughter Rose (Razel), Hotel Gibber expanded as well - growing from the one original building to two and three, and so on - eventually able to host 500 guests.

The original main building became the old main when the new main building was built with modern amenities - including private rooms and a large nightclub featuring live entertainment that originally featured Yiddish entertainers and in the late 1960s hosted acts including Vanilla Fudge, Blood, Sweat, & Tears, and Richie Havens. More amenities included fishing & boating on a small lake, swimming in both indoor and outdoor pools, and ice skating in an inside rink.

As a kosher hotel, Gibber’s hosted many guests over the high holidays and Passover as well as for long seasonal stays. As the Catskills began their decline in the 1980s, Hotel Gibber eventually closed in 1987 marking the end of an era.”

- Michelle Gibber