Borscht Belt

St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture, Jan 29, 2002 by tova gd stabin

Cultural changes beginning in the late 1970s brought on the downfall of the Borscht Belt. As airplane transportation became more affordable, it was both easier and more enticing to travel to places further than the Catskills. Women, especially middle-class women, again entered the work force en masse, which prevented them from spending entire summers in the resorts. Many Jews became more assimilated and felt less of a need to be in separate establishments. Anti-Semitism lessened and many Jewish entertainers did not need to start in Jewish-only establishments.

By the 1980s and 1990s, only a few of the large hotels remained, and their cultural influence was virtually non-existent. Some smaller establishments were burned for insurance and some were sold as meditation centers, ashrams, or drug rehabilitation centers. Bungalow colonies were bought and occupied by Orthodox and Hassidic Jews, whose lifestyle necessitated separate communities. Some Yiddish culture, however, periodically still came alive in the Catskills through the 1990s. For example, Klezkamp is a weeklong annual event held in the Catskills at the end of December. Although primarily billed for Klezmer musicians, Klezkamp is attended by many families of all ages who go to Yiddish classes, lectures, cooking classes, dances, concerts and more, to experience and preserve rich Yiddish culture.

While some are critical of the term Borscht Belt--believing it to be pejorative--whatever the name, clearly the specific Jewish culture born there affected popular culture for many decades.