If you want to take a step back in time, why not plan a trip to Scott's Casino and Lake House on beautiful Lake Oquaga in Deposit, NY. You'll probably need to wait until next Spring or early Summer because I don't think there are any rooms available in the Winter. Besides, even in the best of weather, there is not much in the line of overnight accommodations in or around Deposit, NY. It is a rustic, economically depressed area. But, and this is an important "but", I doubt you'll find such an experience anyplace else. It is truly like entering a time machine and exiting into the 1950's!. Stop in at Scott's Lake House and walk up to the Glass Candy Case and order yourself an Ice Cream Cone
(at a very reasonable price) or possibly play some shuffleboard. It is exactly the same shuffleboard I played a game or two on back in August 1961. Maybe you'll want to try your hand at bowling. Just make sure there is someone available to pick up the pins as there is absolutely no automation at this four lane bowling alley.
Some contact information : Scott's Lake House - call Patty and Gary @ 607- 298-6083 to inquire about hours, etc. Once in awhile they have dinners offered in the Lakeside Room and, if they are not already booked, you can join them. Once again, things are rustic and informal. Gary is the bar tender ( wine and beer only) before dinner and plays piano and sings after dinner. My husband had a ball singing along to the Karaoke that followed. Gary is also the guy who captains the showboat around the pristine waters and takes guests out to water ski and do some tubing around the Lake.
We rented a cottage for one week through a guy named Billy Maine. He and his wife have a cottage on the Lake and not too many years ago renovated and operated the absolutely gorgeous Chestnut Inn. Sadly, although it is still in very excellent condition, it sits lifeless overlooking the Lake. I was wondering if we got a group together, if we could convince him to open the place up for a week or possibly a long weekend. I had the opportunity to walk through the Inn this past summer and it looks like all you'd need to do is put sheets on the beds and you'd be ready to go. Billy Maine is a really nice guy. Maybe we could persuade him! The number I have for Maine's is 607-779-1203 and the e-mail address is karen.chier@maines.net - Just don't try to book the third week in July. That's mine!
Why not look on a New York State map for this little town named Deposit. There is one supermarket ( I think it is called Super M Market) on the main street right next to the Movie Theater. Once again, both these places have not changed in appearance (they just look a little more run down) since we spent our vacation at Lake Oquaga in July 1961. The Lake is a little spring fed " beauty " up the hill from there. (It is off Route 17, approximately a 4 hour ride from New York City).
Now don't loose heart if you can't get there in person As a second best option, check out Season II of the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. This year during the entire month of June, and without much effort, Scott's was transformed into the Steiner's Mountain House in the Catskill Mountains (1960's era), and episodes 4, 5 and 6 were filmed on location. A great many of the 240 extras utilized during the filming were from the local countryside. I hear it was the most exciting thing to happen in Deposit in many years, except of course for the annual Lumberjack Festival/Carnival held the 3rd weekend in July. The Scott Family decided to allow "Hollywood" to descend on them for the month since the owners admit to having made an error in judgment years ago when they were approached about using their resort for the filming of a little movie called Dirty Dancing!! Being the nice guys they were then and are now, the Scott Family turned down the offer not wanting to turn their faithful guests away for an entire summer. Besides, no one expected this movie to become the huge success it turned out to be.
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