The Catskill Chronicle

LIVINGSTON MANOR, NY (September 20, 2013) – The Catskill Art Society will present a talk and slideshow “Working At Play: The Evolution of Entertainment at the Sullivan County Resorts” from Sullivan County Historian John Conway at the CAS Arts Center at 48 Main Street, Livingston Manor, NY on Saturday, September 28 at 3:00 p.m.

This event is free and open to the public, and small donations will be accepted at the door.

Sullivan County’s internationally renowned resort industry did not spring to life fully armed. It evolved over more than a century from the farmhouses and small hotels that depended upon the railroad to bring them guests in the late 19th and early 20th century to the grand, all-inclusive fortress hotels of the 1950s and ’60s. The entertainment the hotels offered also evolved, and Sullivan County Historian John Conway takes a rare critical look at both evolutions and how they impacted the economics and the culture of the region.

A Q&A will follow the presentation, and the CAS galleries will be open for guests to view "Ghosts of the Catskills," the current exhibit of contemporary artwork exploring the faded hotel culture in our region. Curated by Elizabeth Ennis and Andrea Brown, “Ghosts of the Catskills” is on display at the CAS Arts Center through October 6.

John Conway has been the Sullivan County Historian since 1993. He was born and raised in Monticello, NY, educated at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, and has been in the vanguard of the movement to chronicle and preserve local history for more than 25 years. He is an adjunct professor at SUNY Sullivan, teaching a class on local history. He has written six books, and expects a seventh to be completed for release in 2012. He has written for the Encyclopedia of New York State. He is regularly asked to provide historical context for Sullivan County news events by the New York Times, Associated Press, and Fox News, among others. He has appeared on the Fox television series Million Dollar Mysteries, talking about gangster Dutch Schultz and his lost Catskills’ treasure, and on the BBC documentary, Stand Up America, discussing the role of the Borscht Belt on American comedy.

For additional information, call the Catskill Art Society at 845-436-4227.