Bernstock Norma – Milford, PA

Catskill Chairs
Milford, PA
Polaroid SX-70 photograph
5.4″ x 7.6″

In the 1950’s when I lived in the Bronx, my family summered in “the mountains,” our term for the Catskills, Sullivan County, NY. Whether we stayed at bungalow colonies, rooming houses or hotels, those “clam shell” style, chairs (sometimes called “bouncy” chairs) were on all the lawns. They could be damp and cold from morning dew, or hot in afternoon sun, but everyone sat in them just the same and for me, they became known as “Catskill chairs.”

I remember the day, years later, spotting the pair on the lawn of an antique shop. Suddenly, I was back in the 1950’s, back in the mountains of my childhood. And the photo was created.