Memories of Coo Coo

My parents went to Ted Hilton's for their honeymoon in 1949, and our family went to Frank Davis Resort every summer in the 70's.

I especially remember fondly Roy "Coo Coo" Duka, the entertainer from those summers. He used to recruit campers at 6 am to go around with instruments and wake up the other campers. He would blow smoke bubbles from his cigars and run all sorts of activities for kids and adults. He even had a nightclub act for the adults. Sometimes he rode around on a white horse during the Hawaiian barbecue. All very fond memories!

Happiest days at Grand View

For the first 14 years of my life, summers were spent at the Grand View Hotel.  I was one very lucky girl because my Father & Mother worked at the hotel and my family spent the entire summer there.  

Let me tell you about my Dad.  His name was Lew Nadell and he first worked for the Greenbergs in the 1930's, at both of their resorts, summers in Moodus and winters in Lakewood, N.J.  After he married my mother in 1939 he only worked summers because the job he had at a manufactuing firm in Manhattan gave him an unpaid sabbatical leave so he could spend three months in Moodus.

At the Grand View, he ran a concession that was located in the Playhouse.  There he would have candy, soda, ice cream and even sandwiches, just in case the guests would get hungry between meals!  He would go out early in the morning to town and pick up the New York newspapers and sell them to the hotel guests.  During the day, when guests were at the swimming pool or the baseball field or just sitting around the grounds, Dad would walk around with a large cooler strapped to him that held ice cream and soda.  

Meanwhile, my Mother would be behind the concession counter to serve anyone who would come into the Playhouse to play ping pong or listen to the jukebox.  Of course that wasn't my Dad's only job.  He was also the Social Director and was very popular.  Many guests would return year after year because of Lew Nadell.

Dad was a former Vaudevillian and Borsht Circuit entertainer.  He was on stage every night.  Most of his skits had a Jewish flavor to them.  He could sing and dance and was very funny, expecially when he dressed in drag.  Most of the summertime help, like the waiters and busboys were part of the skits.  I remember being on stage singing "A Pretty Girl in Like a Melody" and all the guys came out dressed as girls.  The band for many years was the Al Jarvis Band.

Sometime in the late 1940"s the Grand View was sold to the Pivnik family.  My Dad stayed on until 1954.  My parent's had bought a restaurant in New Haven and Dad couldn't be away all summer.  

When I first came to Moodus, I was only a baby and my parents didn't stay at the Grand View even though they worked there.  We stayed across the road at a small resort called "Steins".  When I got older we did stay at the Grand View but not in the Main House.  We stayed at what was called the Grey House which I believe was where the owners lived.  

We ate with the staff and I was always treated like a Princess by the staff since I was the only little girl that ate with them.  I also was given the privilege of ringing the big bell that called the guests to meals.  I had all my birthday parties at the hotel since my birthday was in July.  The Hotel's baker would make fabulous cakes for me and an announcement went out over the loud speakers inviting all the kids staying at the hotel to come to my birthday party.  Those summers were the happiest days of my childhood.  

--Elinor Nadell Snow

Lifelong friendships

I was a waiter/busboy at Orchard Mansion in both the “Kid’s Dining Room” and “Adult Dining Room” from my Junior Year in H.S. through College. Before that I was a camper from 11 to 14. At 15 I started working at the resort. Most of your memories are right on except for a few points.

1. The tennis court was not lopsided. Actually it was one of the best features (besides the pool) about the resort.
2. The wooden handball/tennis court adjacent to the real tennis court was lopsided.
3. The long narrow table next to the kitchen was in the Adult Dining Room & was what was called the “Teenage Table”. There was a separate “Kid’s Dining Room” in another wing.
4. Dinner was never next day’s lunch as lunch was always dairy & dinner was always meat (except for Sunday).

From someone who is extremely familiar with Orchard & its owners, this time of year I still can hear the dinner bell ringing. Friendships were made by the staff that carry over to this day (I turn 60 in Jan). I would say more professionals came out of the resort staff that would make any Jewish parents proud.

Great article – thanks for the memories.

--Roy Goldstein

Butts in the moose's mouth

Hi! What a great feeling it was when I Googled Orchard Mansion during this holiday break. After Googling my ex-boyfriends, I suddenly thought of Orchard Mansion.

I spent 12 summers there, from 1961-1972 when it closed. I am now 46. The memories made there are hard to explain to anyone but someone who went there. Every time we checked in my dad put a cigarette in the Moose's mouth in the TV room. I even think he put Limburger cheese on the air conditioner in the dining room.

I still talk about Maxie's onion rolls (my husband thinks I'm nuts) and the 85 cents hot fudge sundaes that Lina sold.

Morris Kabatznick "tried" to teach me to swim and I remember Gail as a waitress. My parents made terrific friends there, and I met my first boyfriend there when I was 10.

Other memories: The Purple People who "lived" at the cemetery next door, walking to the waterfall down the road, eating Jawbreakers and Turkish taffy at the candy store in town, shows at Goodspeed Opera House and The Owl Coffee Shop,"Cracker Soup," square dancing at the patio, milk and cookies.

My dog used to run around the big tree in front of my Cabin #12, which we pretty much stayed in every year.

--Terri Heller

Brownies, marshmallows, old barns

I was fortunate enough to spend some wonderful summers at Orchard Mansion.

Those were the best summers of my life. I shared a bungalow with my Mom, Dad and new baby sister. I even remember I had a boyfriend Jeff Molbert who lived "year round" down the road from Orchard Mansion. I still remember how thrilled I was to be dating a Moodus "native".

What a grand time we all had. My parents were close with "Doc" and Rita Lerner. They never had children of their own so we were so a part of their family.

I remember the wonderful square dancing they had on the cobblestone fireplace court..the delicious homemade brownies we used to have in the dining room at night...toasting marshmallows on the fireplace...going antiquing with my sister...going to visit old barns with my mom and finding someone else's treasures at a very good price!

My favorite time was sitting on the hammock with my dad in front of our bungalow, just spending a lazy summer morning in the hammock...how lucky for me to have that time with my father.

I always loved to marvel at my sisters' and all their friends and the fun they had mingling with the waiters. Watching the movies in the old barn and seeing the bats flying around, visiting the counselor bunks and thinking how messy, but at the same time how much fun it was.

I remember we used to walk to the graveyard down the road and read all the tombstones.

So many wonderful memories at Orchard Mansion.

Thank you for bringing me back to a wonderful time that shall never be forgotten.

--Rae Lieberman Haber

My own little room

I spent four summers at Breslow’s in Moodus with my parents and sister. I believe they were the summers of 1958-1961. I was 10 years old that first summer and 13 the last.

My memories of those summers are so wonderful. I remember:

•Softball games against other resorts and camps
•Walking down the road almost a mile for ice cream
•Waiting at the entrance to the resort on Friday evenings for my father to come up for the weekend
•All the kids bunny hopping out of the casino on Saturday nights so the adults could party
•The town of Moodus
•Gillette’s Castle
•Devil’s Hopyard
•Goodspeed Opera House

The four years we were at Breslow’s, the resort was owned by the Cohen brothers—Frank and Richard(?). Their wives were Micki and Marcia. Frank and Micki were newlyweds. Richard(?) and Marcia had a baby while we were there. For some reason, the baby’s name has stuck in mind mind—Amy Beth Cohen (ABC).

During the fourth summer, I had my own little room on the top floor of one of the older buildings. Boy, did I feel great!

My family went back to Moodus for holiday weekends in 1964 and 1967. We stayed at Klar Crest. The weekend in 1964 was most memorable. I was 16 and had just graduated high school. Klar Crest was packed that weekend, with over 100 teenagers. We had a fantastic time. Think about it — over 100 teenagers hanging out all day and night for three days and not once was there any trouble.

I loved summers in Moodus so much that I brought my wife and two kids back in 1975 and 1976. We again stayed at Klar Crest. When I reminded Dave Klar of that big holiday weekend in 1964 with all those teenagers, he remembered it well.

I just found your website and saw the old pictures of Breslow’s, Klar Crest and Moodus. Wow!! They brought back these wonderful thoughts.

Thank you for you website

--Allen Fetterman

Bussing tables at Weiner's

You are the answer to my prayers!!

I spent probably 10 summer vacations at Weiner's in the mid 50's to maybe 1965. I recall Milton & Pearl (the owners) and their 4 children JoAnne, Frances (aka Cissy), Bobby and Mickey (he's in the ad!). Turned out my late mother and Pearl nee Samuels attended Thomas Jefferson HS in Brooklyn together. They lost touch after they graduated in 1940.

So I'm told, one spring day, while cruising around the Moodus area, my parents in their 1952 Buick, happened to stop at Weiner's, looking for a place to spend their upcoming summer vacation.

My mom looked at Pearl, she looked at my mom and there was a scream of recogition from the both of them.

I have such great memories I could talk/write for hours.

If I recall correctly, Milton passed away from a heart attack while doing some work on the grounds and Pearl died not soon afterward from heart disease too.

This was maybe 1965? I recall my last visit was more than likely the Jewish Holiday period in the fall of '65.

I had the job of walking the property sounding the "meal bell" for the guests. It had been ordained I would return the following season to begin my "summer career"
bussing the long tables in the "children's dining room," which would eventually lead to waiting tables in the "adult's dining room". Alas, that never came to pass.

I recall a boy named I think Miles Baron whose mother was an accountant, living adjacent to the hotel maybe.

I'm sure the property is long since developed into a bunch of private homes but I feel this need to drive up and look.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Ira H. Rubin, Jersey City, NJ