Chestnut Lodge
at Oquaga Lake
"I spent over ten wonderful summers at this amazing, fun-filled resort
located in the Catskill Mountains near Binghamton, New York." Helen Pilcher
Music
Music
Many joined us for vacations jam-packed with fun from the time it opened in 1928. This unique summer resort is still operating under the name
CHESTNUT INN on Oquaga Lake.
DEDICATION
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As a tribute to four generations of my family who built and ran our summer resort, I have created this web page.
I am Gail, a fourth generation Retzer. who grew up
6 months of every year of my life at Oquaga Lake.
I lived there, and I loved it there.
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I miss my parents, Austin and Kate Retzer, and my brother Ray and all the summers spent with my family there at the lake. My great-grandfather built Hotel Monoquaga which was renamed Chestnut Lodge by my Dad when he inherited it, 1947-1987. It was later called Chestnut Inn by new owners Bill & David Maines who bought the hotel from our family and ran the resort for nearly 20 years. Kudos to the Maines for keeping it all authentic and for the beautiful landscaping while they owned it. They maintained its history keeping it truly a gem.
The hotel is currently owned by a hotel corporation.
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However, memories of the former Chestnut Lodge remain. For all the people who stayed and played at the lake, who worked and served the guests while the Retzer family still owned it,
I remember you. I remember the good times.
Thank you, thank you for the memories!
Sincerely, Gail Retzer Haack Stentz
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https://www.chestnutinnoquagalake.com/
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Pictured:
The flag flies at half mast in July 2009 upon the death of Austin Retzer, owner/manager since 1947. Kate Retzer, wife and co-manager, died the previous October 2008, only seven months before. Austin was lost without Kate to whom he had been married for 70 years! Chestnut Lodge was a family affair, there to entertain your summer days.
A LITTLE HISTORY IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE RETZER FAMILY AND CHESTNUT LODGE
Sam and Elizabeth Retzer, whose parents all came to the USA from Germany in the 1800's, lived in Brooklyn and spent summers at Oquaga Lake, NY, living in their summer home, The Lenape. In the 1920's, they sold their express business in Manhattan and Long Island and purchased the Brown Cottage, Green Bungalow, Scutt Cottage, and the large Curtis Cottage with the vision of a vacation resort with approx. 1,000 ft. of western lake frontage.
They removed the Curtis cottage, built the hotel on its site, and repurposed the existing cottages and outbuildings and built more on the shores of beautiful Oquaga Lake joining three other hotels already there on the opposite sides of the lake.
Building began in 1925. The hotel opened as Monoquaga Hotel in the spring of 1928.
The 60 room hotel with a cocktail lounge and cafe, ballroom, expansive kitchen, large main lobby and sun porch, barroom and deck was completely built of the now extinct American Chestnut.
In the mid-forties, the name was changed to Chestnut Lodge when
the management transferred by inheritance to Austin Retzer, my dad, who revitalized the property with many amenities and an outdoor activity program for active adults. There was tennis, golf, badminton, water-skiing, horseshoes, boating and more.
Under Austin's management, the hotel became a popular, fun, activity-filled resort for young adults and couples, many coming from New York City and Canada.
In the 1980’s, the Retzers sold the hotel to Bill and David Maines
who changed the name to Chestnut Inn Bed and Breakfast
UPDATE: The hotel was sold to a corporation about 2021. It is currently run as a summer resort, European rather than American plan, with beautiful amenities but none of the planned activities from the Retzer years. It is still a wonderful place to vacation or go out to an evening of dinner and relaxing at beautiful Oquaga Lake.
4 generations of Retzers lived at, owned/managed/worked at the hotel:
Samuel and Elizabeth Retzer, Founders, Owners/Managers 1925 - 1935
William Michael (their son) and Mildred Engels Retzer, Owners/Managers 1935 - 1945
William Raymond, Austin Samuel, and Gordon Michael Retzer, Assisting their folks
Austin Samuel Retzer (grandson) and Katherine Richards Retzer, Owners/Managers 1947 - 1980
Raymond Richard Retzer and Sister Gail Retzer Stentz and her daughter, Kat, Assisting their folks
We loved Oquaga Lake and hosted many at our hotel.
We remember our summer homes on the property where we grew up :
The Lenape (Sam & Eliz. and Will), The Alps (Will & Mildred, the 3 boys), and
Chestnut (Austin & Kate), The Cottage (Sister Gail & Brother Ray and Nanny)
Other Outbuildings: Rumpus House and Soda Fountain, Bird Cage, Boys & Girls Dorms,
Musicians' Cottage, the Laundry, Ice House, Garages, and Rental Cottages.
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Other Retzer Family Members, Progeny of Sam and Elizabeth
great grandchildren:
Lesley Elizabeth Retzer and April Retzer Linscott;
great, great grandchildren:
Raymond Richard Retzer, Jr, Clarke Austin Retzer,
Katherine Elizabeth Haack and Corbin Meacham;
great, great, great grandchildren:
Emma Nicole Retzer and Raymond Richard Retzer III
Charlotte Grace Retzer, Austin Clarke Retzer, and Finn Christopher Retzer
In Memory of My Parents:
Austin Samuel Retzer 1916 - 2009 and
Katherine Lewis Richards Retzer 1919 - 2008
Picture taken at Disney World 1999 - Occasion: their 60th Anniversary
Images of Chestnut today...
Remembering Our Family
Sally, Ray, Mom, Dad, Happy Dog, and Kat. Pic. by Ed
FAMILY
Raymond
Richard Retzer, Sr.​
1945 - 2010
Austin
Kate
MEMORIES: "It's A Wonderful World." Dad used to sing that to Mom every morning as they awoke, holding hands, and spending those few precious moments before getting up. Next, "Hello Dolly" is the song Dad would sing every time I would come back to the house. It was such a loving, happy greeting! Then, our family did a lot of singing together, in the car, washing dishes, walking on the beach, etc. "Puff the Magic Dragon" is one we sang. Finally, the folks loved to go to Disney World to see the beautiful flowers and to listen to the garden music. They always said that it is a happy place. Mom especially loved "Small Small World" and would play it for us on the piano or on the organ, and we would all sing. So much fun! Just to listen to these songs evokes so many memories. They were wonderful people. We had a wonderful family!
Ed and Gail Stentz
Time doesn't stand still, and we all move on. Ed and I married in December 1991 and live in the North Georgia mountains, Kat has married, Nella from Costa Rica, Ray has died, and his darling wife, Sally, lives in the Villages, FL. We all took a vacation to the lake in 2018. It was nostalgic, but, it was fun to revisit home. My how it has changed! Yet some things, like the beautiful mountains and crystal clear waters of the lake, are not changed and beckon.
Daughter Katherine Haack, KAT,
Growing Up
ABOVE: Grandfather Retzer and teenaged Dad chat while having a meal at The Alps, their summer home at the lake.
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OTHER PICTURES: Gathered from Mom's album of pictures at the lake and at our homes in New Jersey and Vero Beach.
spent many summers at the hotel helping our folks. She is the only one left who lived at the hotel and remembers it fondly. Kat lives in Orlando FL on her own lake and works industriously with fishing tournament events.
IN CONCLUSION...
Thank you for looking at my page and reading the family history concerning Chestnut Lodge, my home. As in every family, there are so many more stories to share. Just ask me, and I'll tell you probably more than you want to know. With Love, Gail