Glory Days - Page 18 - The Waldheim Motel

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I have a pewter cup engraved, "The Waldheim, 1920-1973". From what I can recall: my grandparents, Louis and Celia Schulman Liese, came to White Lake in 1919. Stanley, one of their sons, was 10 at the time. (The children in descending age order were: Harry, Mathilda, called Tillie, Selig, Ethel, my mother, Oscar, Stanley and his twin Henry who died in infancy, and Ralph)

My grandmother had bought a small farm in Ellenville, where starting with my mother, all the other children were born, because she wanted to provide healing mountain air for Selig who had contracted meningitis in Brooklyn, their winter home.

I assume they bought the house pictured on one of the postcards which became the 1-st Waldheim in 1920. The larger hotel, of which Celia primarily served as construction supervisor, suffering a bad fall resulting in the removal of her eye, was completed in the late 20's. She died in late 1929.

The original Waldheim 1920-1930
Property Louis & Celia Shulman Liese
(Stanley's parents)

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Lillyan Jacobs Liese (Mrs. Stanley)
Late 1930s

Stanley Liese
1943

Louis and his 2nd wife, Minnie Flamm Liese, were proprietors at least in name, with Stan and wife Lillyan Jacobs Liese in reality running the place. She had met Uncle Stan when her folks started summering there. Stan served in the Navy from 1943 to 1945 and when he was discharged, he and Lil had started helping out there. Upon my grandfather's death in 1949 Stanley did assume proprietorship.

The property was originally quite large, over 70 acres, running back along the road toward Smallwood. We used to hike to the back of the land to a spring and small waterfall where we could picnic in the woods. One of my first jobs as a child was to maintain order in the children's dining room and to baby-sit some of the patron's youngsters. (I was 12 and felt oh so grownup).

I have so many fond memories of those summers. Before Stanley built the large swimming pool, he or Lil or one of the waiters, would ferry everyone down to Newman's drugstore and dock to go swimming or canoeing in the Lake. I loved the pool, but missed the soda. Even with nothing but Stan's house and one cottage remaining, we still thought of the property as The Waldheim!

As time went on, new additions were made to the Waldheim Property. All have now gone the way of so many other old time Catskill Mountains Resorts