President Doug asked that the Pledge of Allegiance be led by Bret Johnson
Jonnie Dukes then came forward to deliver his invocation. He offered his thoughts on kindness and human connection, distributing roses to members and encouraging them to pass one along to a stranger as a small, unforced gesture of warmth.
Jay Miller delivered his monthly “Don’t Miss This” selection. He highlighted Rotary Magazine, pointing members to “Paradise Regained” on page 54 and encouraging the club to read the magazine as a regular window into Rotary’s wider work.
Hillsborough Memorial Day Parade Update
Bret Johnson reminded members that the Hillsborough Memorial Day Parade begins at 10 a.m. at Town Hall, at Floribunda Avenue and El Camino Real. The route ends at North School, where Rotary will have a table among the community displays, music, food trucks and local demonstrations. Rotarians are encouraged to come and participate at our information table.
Club Announcements:
Doug noted the May 27 board meeting, the dark meeting on Wednesday, June 3, and the joint meeting with the Lions Club on Thursday, June 4. He also previewed upcoming programs, including a Broadway cabaret with Christine Krolik, and a June 10 presentation by Steve Hathaway on his book of mayoral portraits.
Dining Bingo Card
Jennifer Pence introduced a restaurant bingo card to thank businesses that supported Burlingame’s Got Talent. Members were asked to visit participating restaurants before the final August meeting, make a purchase, thank them on behalf of Rotary, and initial their cards for a chance at prizes.
New Member “Get to Know You” with Jennifer Pence
Philip Holsworth shared three chapters from his life: a childhood marked by frequent moves across Indiana, a decisive move to California after completing his master’s degree, and a present-day story of reconnection, companionship and optimism. His candid, humorous remarks gave members a fuller introduction to one of the club’s newest voices.
Program
Cary Koh introduced Bart Charlow, an author, consultant, retired therapist, columnist, artist and Jefferson Award recipient. Cary described Bart’s Catskills upbringing and noted that it shaped his memoir A Catskill Carnival, his vignette collection Pickle Barrel Tales, and his new novel That Catskill Summer.
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Bart spoke about That Catskill Summer and the vanished resort world of the Catskills’ Borscht Belt, where he grew up as a third-generation member of a hotel family. He described the Catskills as both a haven and a cultural engine: a place built largely by and for Jewish families excluded from other resorts, and a proving ground for comedians, singers and entertainers who helped shape American popular culture.
Bart said the Borscht Belt rested on three pillars: entertainment, food and intimacy. The first two have long been celebrated; the third, he argued, is often omitted from polite memory. In the Catskills, guests and staff mingled freely, families returned for entire summers, and resort life created a social world where friendships, courtships and affairs unfolded with unusual intensity.
He placed his novel in 1967, a year he described as pivotal. The birth-control pill, the sexual revolution, the broader upheaval of the 1960s and the late golden age of the Catskills all converged in a setting already built for reinvention and escape. The book moves between that summer and the present, following an older man who must revisit the assumptions, mistakes and emotional lessons of youth.
Bart distinguished the novel from conventional romance. He said he wanted to write about adult relationships as they are lived: messy, vulnerable, complicated and deeply consequential. He also emphasized that the book is narrated from a male point of view, offering a more emotionally honest account of love, desire and regret than men are often allowed in popular fiction.
During questions, Bart explained that A Catskill Carnival is memoir, Pickle Barrel Tales is a nonfiction collection of stories from the era, and That Catskill Summer is fiction, the first in a planned trilogy. He also described the decline of the Catskills resort industry, citing the Civil Rights Act, affordable jet travel and changing vacation habits as forces that helped end a once-dominant resort culture.
Doug thanked Bart and announced that Rotary would purchase 10 polio immunizations in his honor, connecting the afternoon’s storytelling to Rotary’s global campaign to eradicate polio.
Christine Krolik and her friend Sara Steppe, with musical direction and accompaniment by Lauren Mayer, will perform a set of great Broadway songs, some well-known and some uncovered gems!
