Lake Minnewaska Mountain Houses

This section needs some major work. It was created before Youtube even existed! In fact dialup was still being used. So some of these videos were made for Real Media and the Real Player. Remember that? I didn't think so.

As time allows, we'll update some of these. Some are already on Youtube and it's as simple as embedding. We promise to work on that soon. (8-13-20)

This is a 16mm silent film home movie we acquired. We wanted to convert it directly to digital, but due to cost, we had it converted to VHS and then captured it. So the quality is not as good as it could have been, but still not bad.

The people in the film are unknown. A note in the can of film says "Minnewaska 1964". About 4 minutes of close-ups and non-related images were cut out. A soundtrack was added, and scenes were re-arranged slightly.


In October of 1978, the soap opera Ryan's Hope filmed at Lake Minnewaska. The filming was spread out over about a dozen episodes. Finding this video personally means a lot to me as I was there when the filming took place. I also remember sitting around an old black & white TV with other employees to watch the latest installment.

I did some major editing on this thing. Took me about 6 hours. I split it up into 5 basic scenes. The plot is kind of weird, so I didn't bother keeping in details that would describe what is going on.

Scene 1 is brief and starts with a view of Wildmere with the actors on a cliff overlooking the lake.

Scene 2 shows the actors walking out the back doors of Wildmere (where the cigarette machine was??) onto the porch, then down (in a weird way) to the Wildmere dock.

Scene 3 has the actors getting in a rowboat and rowing on the lake. There are shots of signs (props) cautioning boaters about the falls (which of course in reality the lake does NOT lead to). The actress then falls asleep in the rowboat.

Scene 4 shows the big scene of the rowboat going over Awosting falls.

Scene 5 The actor who had gotten out of the boat before the falls, goes to save her, and carries her up from the falls to the cliff house ruins (the Cliff House burned in Jan 1978).  Apparently the actor is hearing voices from this imaginary woman who is trying to get him to get rid of the actress, so he locks her in what is supposed to be a basement in all the burned out ruins of the Cliff House. I'm fairly sure this little burned out basement is a set. Be sure to check out the credits at the end!

If you're interested in the plot of all this, check it out at Soapnet for the episodes staring around episode number starting 871. It takes a little doing to zero in on it, but it's there.

I strongly encourage those with dialups to download the DSL versions for better clarity. See below on how to do this.

These clips are analog captures from a 2nd generation videotape, so the quality isn't good. When these episodes come around again on Soapnet we'll update it to crystal clear digital.

I'd like to thank the Ryan's Hope fan whom I bugged the heck out of for this video. Thank you Wanda!

Ryan's Hope Overlooking Wildmere
Scene 1 - Overlooking Wildmere
Time 56K DSL/Cable
1:18 N/A View

Ryan's Hope Down to the Docks
Scene 2 - Down to the Docks
Time 56K DSL/Cable
4:54 N/A View

Ryan's Hope Rowing on the Lake
Scene 3 - Rowing on the Lake
Time 56K DSL/Cable
2:58 N/A View

Ryan's Hope Over the Falls
Scene 4 - Over the Falls
Time 56K DSL/Cable
4:19 N/A View

Ryan's Hope Cliff House Ruins
Scene 5 - To the Cliff House Ruins
Time 56K DSL/Cable
6:38 N/A View

Selected segments of promotional film shot and narrated by Neil Douglas. The date is unknown, but probably in the late 1950's. Quality is poor but definitely watchable.

Courtesy of the Phillips Collection. For personal use only.


Selected segments of video produced, directed and edited and partially filmed by Charles Fernandez. I took this video, edited it down a little, and added a soundtrack. This was all shot after the hotels closed, but Wildmere was still standing. Courtesy of the Charles Fernandez collection. For Personal Use Only.


Viewing Help & Tips

1) To view the unconverted clips (the ones with the 56K and DSL links) you will need to have the Real Player.

Click here to download the Free Real Player >>>> Free Real Player

2) The different speed versions are directly related to the quality. If you're using a 56K (or lower) modem, and can stand to wait longer, try the DSL version.

3) If viewing stops and starts, this can be due to excessive network traffic, trying to view a clip larger than your modem speed can handle, or programs running in the background of your computer. Try the next tip below.

Go to Top