Marisa Scheinfeld

Marisa Scheinfeld The Borscht Belt: Revisiting the Remains of America's Jewish Vacationland (Cornell University Press)

I’ll always remember you in your favorite spot on the porch; the same place where you left this world.Wild at heart from...
06/30/2026

I’ll always remember you in your favorite spot on the porch; the same place where you left this world.

Wild at heart from the start. As a puppy, you were a true scallywag, squeezing through tiny holes in the deer fence, as if 7 acres wasn’t enough room to roam. More than once I thought you’d be gone for good, but somehow you’d always find your way home, usually toting gifts from the forest.

12 years have passed and through it all you were our steadfast, loyal lady. Our fearless wildling. Luna. Toons. Lil’ Tunechi. And the rock that never left my side after the sudden loss of Zig, and then through the births of Jack and Goldie.

You went through it too. Your Frenchie bod had Lyme, tumors, skin and paw issues galore, a streetfight with a pitbull who gouged your forehead, and you even got a vaginoplasty. Girl.

The last six months have been hard, but if there was any way for you to go, I’m glad it was on your own terms, in your favorite spot.

Go on, my wild Toonie girl.
I’m really gonna miss you.

Before Casa Susanna, Chevalier d’Eon was Susanna’s first Catskills retreat, where gay and cross-dressing communities gat...
05/07/2026

Before Casa Susanna, Chevalier d’Eon was Susanna’s first Catskills retreat, where gay and cross-dressing communities gathered in relative secrecy in the mountains.

Named for an 18th-century French spy known for cross-dressing and shifting public identity, the bungalow colony took its name from a figure long tied to disguise and ambiguity.

A few miles from Casa Susanna, Chevalier d’Eon sits in a less documented chapter of Catskills life.

Part of an ongoing project exploring hidden and overlooked histories in the Catskills and Hudson Valley.

Before Casa Susanna became widely known, there was Chevalier d’Eon, Susanna’s first Catskills retreat, where gay and cro...
05/07/2026

Before Casa Susanna became widely known, there was Chevalier d’Eon, Susanna’s first Catskills retreat, where gay and cross-dressing communities gathered in relative secrecy in the mountains.

Named for Chevalier d’Éon, an 18th-century French spy known for cross-dressing and shifting public identity, the bungalow colony took its name from a figure long associated with disguise, secrecy, and ambiguity.

A few miles from Casa Susanna, Chevalier d’Eon sits in an earlier iteration of the same world, a less documented edge of Catskills life.

Part of an ongoing project exploring hidden and overlooked histories in the Catskills and Hudson Valley.

The Catskill Game Farm - once America’s greatest zoo. Today, a weathered entrance, Kodak sign stubbornly clinging on and...
04/01/2026

The Catskill Game Farm - once America’s greatest zoo. Today, a weathered entrance, Kodak sign stubbornly clinging on and scattered remnants tell a strange, complex story full of wonder and legacy.

Part of an ongoing project uncovering the hidden histories of the Catskills and Hudson Valley.

Katonah, my adopted hometown — aka “the village that would not drown.”In 1893, New York City claimed Katonah through emi...
03/25/2026

Katonah, my adopted hometown — aka “the village that would not drown.”

In 1893, New York City claimed Katonah through eminent domain to secure land for its water supply. Rather than disappear, residents bought back their homes and businesses and relocated the entire village one mile south.

Fifty-five houses, barns, stores, churches, and even cemeteries were hauled along tracks of soaped timber, pulled by horse-drawn winches. More than a century later, many of these structures are still standing in “New” Katonah, the town that refused to vanish.

Remnants of old Katonah still linger — if you know where to look.

From an ongoing project on fringe and alternative histories of the Catskills and Hudson Valley. Book forthcoming.

Address

Kiamesha Lake, NY
12751

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Marisa Scheinfeld posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category