Pine Hill Lodge noting 45th anniversary under same ownership

Restful Mount Pocono facility is located in the center of many Pocono attractions

By ALAN K. STOUT

NEPA’s BEST BUSINESSES

For a place with such a rich history, Pine Hill Lodge is certainly not a place focused on the past. It is all about making new memories for families and friends.

The stately and charming three-story home, which was built in 1875, continues to serve as a restful getaway retreat for hundreds of people each year. And with 16 rooms, including 11 bedrooms, visiting groups often range from family reunions to church outings. George Bostany, 83, purchased the lodge in 1971 and is thus celebrating his 45th anniversary of owning and operating the facility. Bostany, a native of Brooklyn, said he has always enjoyed Mount Pocono.

“My parents came here when I was 17 or 18,” said Mr. Bostany. “They used to rent a place not far from here. This was back in the ‘40s. And I loved this place. It was different from Brooklyn. It was really country then. And I guess I got used to it. Later, with my wife and my kids, we started coming up on weekends and staying at different hotels and motels. That’s why we picked the Poconos. I knew the place.”

Bostany said Pine Hill Lodge was first brought to his attention by his late father, who knew that his son was interested in the area and had seen that the home was for sale. He was 39 years old at the time, he had four children, and he aspired to having a “nice country life.” And so, he bought it. From 1971 to 1978, he commuted between Brooklyn, where he owned a television repair business, and Mount Pocono, where he oversaw the lodge. Finally, in 1978, after selling the family home in Brooklyn, he purchased a home in Mount Pocono not far from the lodge, took a job as a technician at the Tobyhanna Army Depot, and relocated his family.

“I liked the size of it,” said Mr. Bostany, when asked what first appealed to him about the lodge. He added that he’s always enjoyed repair and restoration work and that maintaining the facility has been a welcome challenge.

George Bostany purchased the Pine Hill Lodge in 1971

“Keeping it alive, and renovating it, and to bringing it back to how it was originally was nice,” he said. “It’s been a good life for me.”

Bostany, a veteran of the Korean War, lost his wife of 53 years, Marlene, in 2014. He has four grown children: Christine Nafash, Lisa Butowsky, George Bostany and Donna Bostany. After 45 years, he said he is now open to the idea of putting the lodge on the market and selling it to the right buyer.

“I‘d like to find a family to buy it, or someone that would like to continue doing this,” he said. “Someone could run it as a bed and breakfast, or convert it into six- family apartment, or a restaurant, or buy it as an investment. It’s also ideal for someone to just continue doing what I’m doing.”

Pine Hill Lodge is a member of the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau and the Monroe County Historical Association. It is located 30 minutes from Scranton, 50 minutes from Wilkes-Barre and 90 minutes from New York. It can accommodate up to 23 people overnight and up to 30 in total. It is rented to private groups only, so those groups that stay there have the entire facility to themselves. In addition to 11 bedrooms, there is also a large living room with a stone fireplace, two dining rooms and a large fully-equipped kitchen. And for now, despite the possibility of a sale, it’s business as usual and bookings for summer getaways have begun. To note its 45th anniversary under the same ownership, special rates are being offered.

George Bostany and his daughter, Donna.

Bostany’s daughter, Donna, who currently assists him with bookings, said that as more and more attractions continue to be developed in the Poconos, Pine Hill Lodge continues to be a perfect place to visit.

“We see people leaving their crazy/busy lives behind for a weekend and enjoying nature,” said Ms. Bostany. “There’s so much nature here. There’s a hammock, so you can sleep between two trees and take the world off of your shoulders and enjoy the clouds or the constellations. The wrap-around porch is nice for families, and we’re in the middle of horseback riding, fishing, hiking and swimming areas.  It’s a place where families can talk to each other. They cook here, and they’re all under one roof. You know where your kids are. There’s a ping-pong table, and meanwhile people are playing cards in the dining room, or they’re outside at the barbecue. You can make your own fun here on the premises, with shuffleboard, or soccer on the lawn, or the wooded nature trails. There’s also so much antiquing here, and you can go to Mount Airy for the casino, or for comedy shows and bands, or Kalahari for swimming. We’re also in the heart of the ski resort area.

“There are all kinds of things to do.”

(For information on Pine Hill Lodge, call (570) 839-8060. It can also be found on Facebook.)  

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This story originally appeared in The Pocono Times in Monroe County. It also appeared in the Journal of the Pocono Plateau in Monroe County and The Westside Bulletin in Luzerne County. And it has been shared on Twitter by the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau media page.      

Kingston consignment shop goes vintage

New store offers an eye-catching mix of the old and the new

By ALAN K. STOUT

NEPA’s BEST BUSINESSES

November 2014

Cheryl Audrey Lutz and her daughter, Taylor Rebecca Lutz, have always loved consignment shops. They've always had an appreciation for vintage clothing and have enjoyed finding unique items from the past. In time, they became experts on the consignment business, and they now bring that expertise to their own business: C. Audrey & Daughters Vintage & Consignment Shop, which is located on Wyoming Avenue in Kingston.

The shop first opened in August of 2011 in Berwick, but moved to Kingston three months ago. Cheryl, 51, worked in the insurance claims business for more than 25 years, but says that she eventually grew tired of the corporate world. When a store front opportunity presented itself, she thought of her love for consignments and decided it was time for a change.

 "I did some research, and just went out there and dug right in," she says. "Taylor and I both are big proponents of thrift shops, flea markets, estate sales and consignment shops. We predominantly shop for ourselves in consignment shops."

Cheryl says many items from the past have a much longer shelf-life than people give them credit for.

"We've become a society of 'throw away,' and it makes me crazy," she says. "We need to repurpose. We need to take this stuff and reuse it and remake it. If you don't like the way it is, make it something else. If you look at a piece of vintage clothing that's been around since the '50s, the quality of that garment is impeccable. It's going to be around for another 50 years. You don't find that now. You buy clothing now, and you wash it a couple of times, or dry-clean it a couple of times, and it's garbage. And everybody's dressed the same. There's no individuality."

 Taylor, 23, agrees.

 "A lot of older people always tell me I was born in the wrong era," she says with a smile. "But actually, among my age group, vintage is pretty popular. The esthetics, the quality - things just looked prettier then."

Taylor says she enjoys looking for items to place on the shop's shelves.

"I love finding things," she says. "People bring things in on consignment, but one of my favorite things to do is to go hunting for vintage. It's cool to think about who may have worn something, and what kind of story is behind it."

Cheryl, originally from Hanover Township, says that while Berwick was a fine place to first launch the business, Kingston has proven to be a better home.

"Taylor is very much into the vintage side of the business," she says. "That's very much her niche. And there wasn't the demographic for it down there. We had a small group of individuals that are really into it, and we had a great storefront, but it just didn't work. Taylor and I had talked about relocating and trying to find something with more foot traffic, and I was just driving down the Ave and saw this storefront. We came in, and it was pretty much in move-in condition. In fact the color, purple, was what we had in Berwick. We've added some colors and spruced it up a bit, but it was just literally a matter of driving by, signing the lease, and moving in within two weeks. Kingston has been very good to us. It's very welcoming."

C. Audrey & Daughters Vintage & Consignment Shop features women's clothing, shoes and accessories. This includes handbags and jewelry. They also carry high-end furs and vintage framed prints.

"We carry modern fashions as well," says Cheryl. "We recently had an Andy Warhol bag come in, and it wasn't here for one hour and it was gone. If you're looking for something interesting and off the beaten path, especially vintage, you're going to find it here."