Pococabana Resort - Minisink Hills - near East Strasbourg

[DCStatenIsl]

We also stayed at the Pococabana for a week in the summer and then a week at Point Pleasant Beach NJ! It was a regular thing and I remember Jimmy Festa, flaming gay guy and his glasses, colorful jackets, dance shoes, always tan and animated personality. He'd round up everyone to be in his shows. We stayed in the main lodge and sometimes up on the hill (golf cart necessary to go back and forth). Lots of food, tired looking waiters who were recruited for their shows, the pool, the mist in the morning that would burn off as the sun came out, the old wood diving board, ping pong tables, tennis court and the smell of skunk at night. Thanks for the memories!

Originally Posted by BriBnyc

As a young boy back in the late 60's (I was less than ten years old) I would stay at the Poco with my family for a couple of weeks each summer with my cousin and her family. (And then another couple of weeks at the shore in NJ.)
We would stay in the cabanas and not in the main lodge and I remember always having a good time - the staff was always pleasant and accommodating. And who could forget Jimmy Festa! I was too young to understand what a gay person was but now it seems so obvious. My parents just thought he was a snappy dresser who could dance well. I do remember the shows as always being fun. Swimming all day and being that young, it was always a good time.

I caught this thread as I was trying to see if the Poco was still around - I was looking at places in the Poconos and wondered "whatever happened'.... I guess now I know - and even I remember the old red barn across the road, never ventured near it though - parents wouldn't approve.

Thanks for the memories.

[DCStatenIsl]

I remember summers at the Pococabana. We spent one week in PA and another at Pt. Pleasant, NJ. I remember Jimmy Festa too, tan, flashy dresser, colorful eyeglasses, fancy shoes and his raspy voice, arms waving as he talked. He was a bit much to me, a little girl back in the 60's. I remember my parents exchanging funny looks when he walked away too but he loved to dance with my mother, she was a great dancer. He'd round up my brothers to put them in the shows. Memories that stand out in my mind are the cold, misty mornings when we took the golf cart down the hill for breakfast. By the time we were done eating the sun would be out and it magically turned into a hot day. Night time was dinner, dancing, shows, ping pong, kids running all over and the Pocono smell of skunk in the air. I remember how tired our waiter always looked too. So sad that it burned down and the memories are all that's left.

Originally Posted by mangodog

Wow you amaze me !!! So much detail. I was the lifeguard there in summer 1970... I forgot the name Jimmy Fiesta.... what a flaming Queen she was. Unabashed. My first acquaintance with a flaming homosexual. I was 17 years old and Ed Z was standing by my bedroom door one night and it was very apparent what he wanted. I told him I wanted to go to bed because I had to get up early for work... He scared me. I bet they are all dead now from loose living. The owner .... what was his name - Mr Geislin ? A heavy whiskey drinker. Kept a bottle in a paper bag on the floor next to his desk. I remember Jimmy F screaming at me by the pool one afternoon and punishing me by making me scrub the entire perimeter of the pool gutter with Ajax scouring powder and a terry cloth towel. Being a lifeguard was not as taxing as being a waiter. You had a brutal schedule doing 21 meals a week ! No time off. The waiters were telling me they made a lot of money in tips. Which they needed for college. Seems to me that they were telling the truth. Were you on the inside of that or the outside ?

It is so much fun that you resurrected these old memories. YES - I stayed on the 2nd Floor of that old Boarding house you mention. 17 years old... how young and vulnerable I was .... knew nothing of the world.

Please tell me anything else you remember. Yeah, the jutebox was there in 1970 in the game room. Do you remember the old abandoned house across the road tucked back in the trees ? I remember exploring it by myself one day.... It was open and someone placed a handmade sign on the ladder going up to it (from underneath the house)..... it said STAY OUT - SKUNKS!

Then there was an old red barn across the road to the left - It looked like it was 70 years old . Do you remember it ?

Did you get in any fights with the management or other waiters ? I was close friends with the pastry chef there - His name was Emil Colameco... We were close He would take me to his distant home, cabin in a forest and play Swedish Rhapsody on a violin and make me scrambled eggs in the morning. He tried to help me get into Annapolis Naval Academy because he knew someone who worked there.

Then there was Woody who was one of the Chefs in the Kitchen.... When I asked for something to eat, he asked me if I saved anyone that afternoon . I said no and he said then he couldnt serve me.

[Dbwaiter]

Worked at the Poco for three summers as waiter
70-71-72
Jimmy Fiesta
Ed Zimmerman
Beverly Trigham
Good times and made a few bucks
Buffet on Tuesday night
Wednesday softball

[Dbwaiter]

I worked as a waiter 70, 71, 72
Remember Jimmy, Ed the maitre 'd, Beverly a singer
Jeff the chef and his son Woody
Lila washed and starched our little white waiter jackets
Tuesday night buffet
Softball against the guests
Even have a 1970 pic of the waiters, but no names

[Dbwaiter]

Woody's father is chef Jeff. They both ran the kitchen along with the pastry chef.
Tuesday evening meal was a buffet downstairs. Great pinball machine down there too.
Wednesday afternoon was a softball game between the waiters and guests.
Lila washed and starched the waiter vests for twenty-five cents