Roseboro Hotel, Sharon Springs, NY
Audio Excerpts | Current Photo | Historic Picture

Interview Transcript: audio excerpts in italics

Speaker:: Grace Lynk

Background: Grace Lynk worked at the Roseboro Hotel as a young teenager in the 30's. In these segments she describes the hotel and comments on the personnel.

Interviewer: What was Sharon like when you were a teenager?
Lynk: Well, the hotels were very busy in the summer and it was always a quiet winter downstreet. Everyone who was able, worked in the summers at the bath house or the hotels.

Interviewer: Please tell me something about your life in Sharon as an adult.
Lynk: Malcolm and I were sweethearts in high school. We married July the 8th, 1939, that's going to be 62 years. We had four children. After the children were older, I worked as a waitress at the Hollywood Hotel. Mac was in business for 33 years at the Mobil Gas Station.

Interviewer: The I Spy project is particularly interested in some of the old buildings in Sharon Springs. One of those buildings is the Roseboro Hotel. What connection do you have with the Roseboro?
Lynk: I worked there. First, I was a babysitter and then when I was old enough, I was a waitress.

Interviewer: Would you describe what the Roseboro looked like on the outside when you worked there?
Lynk: It was very elegant, the grounds were always taken care of in front and back. The large porch with many rocking chairs looked so inviting.

Interviewer: Can you describe the dining room?
Lynk: That was large and plenty of windows and always spotless. At noon and night they had a band playing.

Interviewer: Can you remember what the kitchen looked like?
Lynk: Oh, the kitchen was scrubbed down every night with lye and hot water. It was very clean. We had two dishwashing rooms, one for meat dishes and one for milk dishes. We also had different sinks for silverware. These items always had to be kept apart. One other sink was just for glasses.

Bakkom: Can you tell me about the lobby?
Lynk: The lobby was very much like it is today.

Interviewer: What were the guest rooms like?
Lynk: Some had private baths, and they had a sink in each room. And they were always kept very clean.

Interviewer: How many guests could stay there at one time?
Lynk: 300 in the early 30's.

Interviewer: Do you remember the owners and managers of the Roseboro?
Lynk: Yes. I remember Mr. and Mrs. Harry Wasserman and their family. They had two daughters and four sons. Joe and Louie had charge of the kitchen and dining room. Molly, Nate and Essie - the front desk and lobby, and Hymie was the groundskeeper and he had charge of the chicken house.

Interviewer: What were they like?
Lynk: The chicken house? Let me tell you about the chicken house. This was strictly a kosher hotel. So, the chickens had to be blessed by the Rabbi. And all the meat had to be blessed by the Rabbi before it could be cooked.

Interviewer: When did you work at the Roseboro?
Lynk: 1931, 32, and 33.

Interviewer: What was your job at the Roseboro?
Lynk: First I babysat because I wasn't old enough to go in the dining room. And then I had the children's dining room.

Interviewer: Please tell me about a typical work day for you.
Lynk: We had to be to work at 6:30. The first thing, you went to the cellar and cleaned fish, which no one liked. Breakfast was served between 7 and 9. We got a break from 10:00 to 11:30. Then it was lunch. I served the children in their own dining room. The band ate with the children in the dining room because they had to play at noon-time and at night, and the children were not allowed in the main dining room.

Interviewer: Where was the children's dining room?
Lynk: It's where their kitchen is now.

Interviewer: What did you do on your breaks?
Lynk: We walked the streets and sometimes rested as we had a room in the help headquarters.

Interviewer: What did you get paid for your work?
Lynk: I worked seven days a week for $5.00, plus tips. And I worked from the day school was out until the day school started.

Interviewer: Did any of your friends work at the Roseboro?
Lynk: Yes. They were waitresses, chambermaids and dish-washers.

Interviewer: What kind of food was served to the guests?
Lynk: The food was strictly kosher.

Interviewer: Where did most of the guests come from?
Lynk: New York City.

Interviewer: What were some of the services offered to the guests?
Lynk: Well, a car always met them at the bus station or at the train station, in the 30's there was a train station in Sharon Springs. They also picked them up in Canajoharie at the train station and they took guests to Saratoga, or Howe Caverns, they had a car that took them there when they wanted to go..

Interviewer: Were most of the guests Jewish? If so, how did they different from the people living in Sharon Springs?
Lynk: Yes, they were different. But, they were a strict religious group, most of them owned their own businesses in New York City.

Interviewer: Do you know of any famous people who stayed at the Roseboro?
Lynk: No.

Interviewer: How did people dress during the time you worked at the Roseboro?
Lynk: They always dressed up for dinner at night. They had beautiful clothes, fur capes, and always went for walks after dinner.

Interviewer: Was there anything you especially liked about working at the Roseboro?
Lynk: Being with my friends, and the Wasserman's were very good to the help.

Interviewer: Was there anything you disliked about working at the Roseboro?
Lynk: Cleaning the fish in the morning.

The I Spy games and Website was supported by Federal Library Services and Technology Act funds, awarded to the New York State Library by the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Mohawk Valley Library System and participating member libraries.

Mohawk Valley Library System - About I Spy - Visit Our Kids' Website