What's a Bungalow Colony?

1) Don’t know what a kibbutz is, but there’s generally no planting to do in the colonies

2) You (or me) can live there year round, if you’re a hermit, or absolutely allergic to other humans.

3) Some newer one do. So they facilitate the possibility of #2. Also many go up there for a Shabbos. (I’ve done it, exhilarating!!)

4) In case you haven’t figured it out – YES. The scenery is gorgeous – in ALL SEASONS!! Miles and miles and miles of just pure wilderness, HaShem’s nature the way Hes set it. It does wonders the the mind, body etc.

And btw, we LIVE there year round – it’s always on our (our family) mind. The summers we spend at our place give ‘chiyus’, life, energy, zest for the whole year!!

Google the Borscht Belt.

People generally don’t live in bungalow colonies, but if they would, they would mostly be very near to some very nice Jewish communities.

It must be uninhabitable, because otherwise why would people prefer to live in shacks? Actually, I prefer Brooklyn in the summer: parking is much easier.

Yehudayonas description is quite accurate! There’s an entire culture that surrounds this phenomenon.

I will paint a more descriptive picture for you:

A bungalow is a (very) small and simple dwelling. I wouldn’t say it’s a shack, but it’s a pretty basic set-up: Built of wood, un-insulated, with a small kitchen with appliances that may actually date back to the 1950’s. 1, 2 or even three Bedrooms (Very large bungalow)and often a porch that is enclosed with screens. Shared kitchens probably were prevalent in the 1950’s and ’60s; I think today each would have their own. The inside of the bungalow is for sleeping and keeping your stuff dry!

The idea is, you are going there so the kids can freely play outdoors in relative safety compared to the city. Also, Brooklyn, aside from not having much in the way of grass and trees, is hot and humid in the summer. The bungalow colonies are situated in an area that has a higher elevation, and therefore cooler temperatures. There is almost always a swimming pool with a solid mechitza, with separate hours for men and women. Sometimes there is a basketball, or racket ball court or other amenities on the premises. There is a laundry room (shack) with coin-operated washers and dryers. Most also offer a small day camp program for younger children; from age 2 up to about 10 or so. There is usually also some sort of communal building which doubles as a shul. During the week, there may not be a minyan of men, But from Friday through Sunday, there are plenty of fathers/husbands around. And more separate-swim hours for men.

The properties are grassy, surrounded by natural forests, that certainly are home to wildlife native to the area. They are owned by private individuals, or small groups. The owners rent out the bungalows to individuals – usually family oriented – for the summer months when the Jewish schools are closed. This period is from the last week(s) of June until the end of August, or even until Labor Day. Some colonies are owned by a particular organized community, in conjunction with their own set of schools and shuls in the New York City area.

A bungalow colony can have anywhere from 10 to a few hundred bungalows. Usually a few families that are acquainted will rent bungalows in the same colony. Additionally, the same friends will often repeat their specific arrangement for many Summers. It is common for a larger group to develop with adults and children that become quite tightly knit friends, having spent many Summers together, (in tight quarters) and maintaining their relationships throughout the year, sharing occasions such as weddings and other simchas.

These days, there are less and less of the type of bungalow structures I described. Many colonies have become co-ops, with individuals owning their own bungalows. Some of these slowly get more modernized, and expanded to include additional rooms, and are even “winterized”. New appliances, proper floors, private washers and dryers are added. So it develops into a very basic Summer home. There are “colonies”, that were first built in the last 25 years, in which the bungalows are really basic houses, with modern amenities, electricity, heating and air-conditioning. In a different setting, you would just refer to it as a housing development. With very small, quaint houses.

But there are quite a few hold-outs of the basic dwellings I described above, which you would see if you drive down the roads in the area of the Catskill Mountain Region being referred to. Most of these places are in towns or townships close to a stretch of Route 17 in South Eastern New York State. There are some additional areas a bit farther North East within the Catskill Mountain Region.

The colonies are largely in the same areas where most of the religious Jewish Summer camps are located. There are a number of Lakes in the area too, some of which offer rowboat, canoe, and even speedboat rentals. Since this is the Yeshiva World News website, I am describing the set-up (and culture) in the Yeshivish/Chassidish world. There definitely are additional bungalow colonies and co-ops where the crowd is modern orthodox, and may be in areas I am not familiar with. But the non-religious crowd has pretty much abandoned this destination.

There are also flourishing commercial businesses; mostly small supermarkets, that have sprung up in the area for the Summer months. There are Brooklyn based pediatricians who have opened offices in the area, all but moving their entire medical practices to the area for the Summer months. Some of the towns have a commercial street with a few stores, which likely includes a Pizza Shop and/or Ice Cream Parlor. In the Summer, the emergency volunteer corps, Hatzolah has a full fledged division operating up there. For safety reasons, they have actually created a fairly accurate map listing and locating almost every known bungalow colony and summer camp. There are a few towns that are actually home to local residents all year long. (They live in normal houses). National chains such as Walmart, Walgreens and Supermarkets exist in those towns. These are highly popular destinations when it rains!

One humorous note you have to know to be an insider:

For some reason, many people who speak primarily Yiddish, actually call these bungalow colonies “countries”. That evolved from the term countryside, which morphed into the country, as in “for the summer, we go to the country”. This further evolved among some Yiddish speaking groups, to simply call the individual colony where they rent their bungalow, ‘the country’. If you follow this logic, there are numerous bungalow colonies which some people actually call “countries”. If you go into a kosher grocery up there, a friendly person may seriously inquire “Which country are you in?”!!!!

Bungalow Colonies proliferated after WWII and the majority were Jewish, but NOT frum.

This was during the baby boom when small NYC apartments were overcrowded by young families with little space and no air conditioning.

My grandparents owned a bungalow colony near Loch Sheldrake and we often visited for a week in the summer in the 50s.

By the early 1960s most non-frum Jews no longer went to bungalow colonies, many had escaped crowded NYC apartments for a small suburban home with a patch a grass.

Also, in 1964, President Johnson singed the Civil Rights Act. Jews could not be legally kept out of beach and country clubs or hotels/resorts. There now were many choices for non-frum Jews to vacation. with the advent of cheap Jet travel the attraction of the Catskills died out for many.

Frum Jews took advantage of changing conditions and bought up failed bungalow colonies. Some became schools/Yeshivos. Others became condominiums/coops instead of profit making businesses.

BUT, the wife and kids still spend most of the time there without husband.father who still commutes from the city for Shabbos.

BTW, It’s not all about Brooklyn. My grandparents who owned the colony were from the Bronx, as were most of their renters.

Lightb, just read the essays kindly provided by WinnieTP and Thinkingol, and you’ll know everything there is to know.

Then be sure NOT to miss the Absolutely Brilliant conclusion by DY.

I was hesitating to post here, because I didn’t want to kill its impact by posting a following post.

Looks like I did though.

LilmodU, yes that might have done the trick.

But I just had to tell you-

Thank you, I appreciate your help!

So there I go again…

a large yard with 10 trailers & a pool squashed into it. with the price of each rental same as your large home renal in NY but guess its worth it just so you can get the feeling that you got away & can be able to tell your friends that you went away for the summer

Lul: Ten points for that one!!!!!

(In my humblekite, I’d think if two people say it’s a third world country, it makes it sixth, no?)

yehudayona……….

I absolutely agree with you about 2017. Outside of Riverdale there are few frum Jews left in the Bronx.

My grandparents sold their colony in 1972. The land was developed for single family homes. That’s how I ended up with 2 Sifrei Torah.

yehudayona, I am not from New York so why would I know more than lightbrite what bungalow colonies are?

rebshidduch – while there are people outside of New York who do know what a bungalow colony, there are many who don’t.

While you are not from New York, my impression is that you are much closer to and have more shaychus to the New York world than LB does.

Hey, we have something in common – I skipped first also. And I also made up what I missed by learning with my mother over the summer. But I only skipped hebrew, not english for First Grade. The english teacher refused to skip me because of my handwriting. I had to skip Third Grade english to even things out.

I would qualify for neither of the above jobs, but I don’t think it has too much to do with my skipping Third Grade.

My picture of a bungalow colony is from A Yid Cares by Yitzy Erps circa 1980. Everyone has those detailed Yitzy Erps hands. We don’t have them in England. (I mean the colonies, we do have hands. We got rid of most of the colonies in the 50s and 60s.)

Bungalow colony is a state of mind.

Daas Yochid, thank you for that amusing summary!

Personally, I don’t think it resembles ANY other world or country. It’s almost a 3rd world planet!!! With a bit of its own language and syntax, and a unique approach to family living! It’s difficult to understand the system of government. Everyone does whatever they want. Sort of. But it’s not anarchy. There are rules. Or maybe it’s more correct to say standards. But you have to be a part of it to know what they are. The year-round locals have a regular American system. It’s the “country” constituency that live by different unwritten charters. Which sometimes creates, ummm, inter-planetary friction! (Perhaps it’s fair to say that Hatzolah is the only accepted governing institution!?!?!)

Also, it wouldn’t be “the country” without modern familiar traffic jams on Route 42, complete with the requisite Honda Odysseys, and Toyota Siennas not found in 3rd world countries. And don’t forget the FOOD resources. There’s way more up there than in a bunch of 3rd world countries combined!

We all LOVE the parking situation in Brooklyn from the end of June until Labor Day! That’s how working people know it’s the Summer!!!

Redt fun der Malach…

Today I saw a Honda Odyssey on the streets of Manchester. It’s definitely the first time, and it was somewhat an oddity (couldn’t resist) for this country. We like cars smaller and manageable on our streets that were built for people walking or being pulled by horses.

Geordie, what do large yiddishe mishpachos do?

“Toyota Previa, Ford Galaxy, VW Touran.”

Never heard of these, so I googled. These are models that are not sold in the USA, probably because we like larger vehicles. Our roads are wider and our fuel is less expensive – like a third to half of the price.