The Borscht Belt Museum will illuminate and celebrate the golden age of the Catskills resort era, when millions of urban dwellers sought refuge in the mountains of upstate New York, leaving deep imprints on mainstream American culture, from stand-up comedy and comfort food to mid-century modern design and popular concepts of leisure. A virtual tour of those “thrilling days of yesteryear” when Urban Jews loaded their Chevys and Fords (and a few Cadillacs and Lincolns) crossed the Hudson on the George Washington Bridge and ventured “up to the mountains” via Old 17 (or the new “superhighway called the Quickway”) and, after a quick pit stop at the Red Apple Rest, finally pulled into the driveway of one of the 538 hotels or 1500 bungalow colonies that dotted areas of Ulster and Sullivan counties to begin their “vacation in the Borscht Belt!” Whether a weekend, a week or an 8 week summer, the Borscht Belt had something for everyone! Relive those times; those experiences (perhaps maybe even relive those “R-Rated experiences”) with Borscht Belt Historian and “ultimate Catskill Rat,” Dr Peter Alan Chester, Treasurer/CFO – Founding Director of the Catskills Borscht Belt Museum, as he takes you on a trip down memory lane. “The Main Dining Room is now open for your dining pleasure”— CHARGE!
DR PETER ALAN CHESTER is the first generation American born son of Holocaust Survivors Leo and Henriette Chester. His Great-Grandfather was the Chief Rabbi of Bad Ems and Koblenz. His Great-Uncle was the Chief Rabbi of Paris. Peter has three earned degrees from New York University, graduating Magna Cum Laude as a Fellow of the Department. A life-long career in public education, Peter began as a Teacher of Middle School Science and Math in Coney Island, advancing to Dean of Students and Science Chairperson. He served on the staff of three Chancellors and later returned to his district as Director of Science and Professional Development. Peter facilitated the establishment of The Bay Academy for the Arts and Sciences, a middle school for the academically gifted, serving as its Founding Director. He also served as Interim Principal of several elementary and middle schools. He is fluent in German, French, Flemish and Yiddish and is a trained keyboard and vocal musician. He is active in numerous “2G” groups for Children of Survivors and has presented “The Legacy of My Family: The Story of Their Survival of The Holocaust” for many audiences nationally and internationally speaking in English, German and Flemish.
