A Century of Family Fun

In Mid-April of 1920 Mr. and Mrs. Peter Nicholsen (Peter and Gurine) accompanied by their son Arnold, age six, moved from an apartment in the Bayridge section of Brooklyn and headed for their new home in Greenville, Greene County, New York.

Peter and Gurine Nicholsen came from Arendal and Grimstad, Norway, Arnold was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They took the WestShore Railroad from Weehawken, N.J. to West Coxsackie and a Model T Ford from there to the farm. As they walked the dark and lonely road with no light of any kind, Gurine began to sob from fear of exhaustion in an unfamiliar wilderness. But Arnold clung tightly to his mother's hand and said, "Be brave, Ma! Be brave!"

The Farm which Peter and Gurine purchased had been known in the previous century as the Edgett Farm and as nearly as can be learned was owned by the Edgetts back into Colonial Times. A female member of the Edgett family was 13 years of age when Washington was inaugurated as President of the U.S.A. and at age 67 was buried in the private cemetery at Sunny Hill (a cemetery used by the Edgett family for many years). In the late 1800s the farm was purchased by Spencer Plank who sold it to Mr. and Mrs. Aslaug Olsen around 1910. In April 1920 it was named Sunny Hill Farm by Gurine. The name has been most appropriate, because year after year there are many times when rain falls all around the area or state and does not fall at Sunny Hill. The good weather has made Sunny Hill an ideal spot for the vacationist.

Early Description of Sunny Hill
In 1920 Sunny Hill consisted of approximately 110 acres of land, less than half being cleared, stonewalls running in all directions, a living house, a barn, a combination pigpen and outhouse (a threeholer with no partitions, and the ever-handy Sears Roebuck catalog), and an old wagon shed which fell during 1922 under the weight of the snow. On the front lawn in front of the present Main House was a vegetable garden where the routine vegetables were grown plus rhubarb and an annual crop of potatoes. Approximately six cows furnished milk and butter for the table and two horses were the means of power for plowing and additional farm work. Chickens and pigs furnished the poultry and food for the table.

Peter, a carpenter by trade, had to work in the city during most of the year and would try to do limited farming on weekends and short stays on the farm. Gurine worked from early until late to care for the livestock and care for her household as well. She soon discovered that another source of income was needed in order for her family to make ends meet. She rented out rooms to three families who did their own cooking and took a few borders besides—the weekly rate for board and room being $5.00 per week for adults. All families cooked on the woodburning stove.

With Gurine and Arnold alone during the winters at Sunny Hill, conditions were very difficult. Invariably the well and pump would freeze causing severe hardships in watering livestock and obtaining water for cooking. Old-fashioned snowstorms with inadequate snow removal equipment caused additional hardships in obtaining store supplies. Mail would be several weeks in coming through hard winters.

Progress begins at Sunny Hill
In approximately 1925, Peter set up an old sawmill from parts which he salvaged here and there. Powered by an old Fordson tractor he began to cut logs and make them into lumber. He began work in 1925 on what was to become the Main House where the old wagon shed had fallen down. The first flush toilet was put in about
1926 and a carbide gas lighting system about the same time. Electricity finally came to the farm about 1928. A bathroom was added upstairs for use by guests in upstairs rooms. There was one bathroom and toilet for approximately each ten or twelve guest rooms.

The main recreation was a hot dog party about once a week and an occasional trip by horse and buggy to Freehold or Greenville over a wagon trail type of road where the grass grew as high in the center of the road as along the sides.


Old Farm House Converted
The old farmhouse consisted of about five downstairs rooms, a living room, kitchen and summer kitchen where most of the cooking was done. Upstairs were about six more rooms with very low ceilings making it necessary for anyone occupying such rooms to roll into bed sideways in order not to hit their heads on the ceilings.

The attic in this building was full of old spinning wheels, clocks, newspapers, lamps, seashells and other items which, in this day and age would have great value—but which in the 1920s were considered primarily junk. Periodically the horse and wagon would be used to unload part of the junk from the attic to be taken to the dump.

Eventually, in the late 1920s the old farmhouse was torn down and replaced by the present Annex building (which has since been rebuilt). A Store and Recreation Hall was provided downstairs in the Annex.

Sunny Hill Continues to Grow
As Sunny Hill acquired more guest rooms, more and more guests began to come. The present Recreation Hall was built in part in 1931 and added to four times since. The present swimming pool was built in 1933 (the second oldest in the area) and activities were planned for guests’ entertainment most nights of the week. Daily ball games
became a large part of the recreation program from 1935 on.

The dining room which was built under the Main House served as the main eating place for almost thirty years although it was added to three times.

Bungalows A, B, C, D and E were built in order to meet the need for more summer guests.

In 1955 Bungalow D was rebuilt to provide the first building with private shower, toilet and sink facilities. The first motel built was the 4-unit Arendal Motel with private bath and a radio in each room. Guests staying at the Arendal were considered the elite among Sunny Hill guests at the time.

Next came the building of the Grimstad Motel in about 1960, with rooms ranking among the finest in existence at area resorts. At the same time the Main House and Annex were both converted to all rooms with private baths. By 1961 Sunny Hill may have become the first resort in the area to have all rooms with private bath facilities.

The 1940's Eventful Years at Sunny Hill
In July 1940, Mae ZuIch came to spend a vacation at Sunny Hill from her home in the Parkchester section of the Bronx. After a couple of routine vacation days things happened fast with the result that Mae and Arnold were married seven weeks later—on Labor Day 1940. And as Arnold often said, “We have been laboring ever since.”

Gurine’s health was very poor for the period of 1930 thru 1944, being severely crippled with arthritis, overburdened with hard work and, truthfully speaking, having no recreation year-in and year-out. She died at 57 years of age in 1944. Her passing was a great shock to members of the family and to all who knew her, as Gurine liked everyone and always saw “the good in people” rather than their faults. Peter continued to work hard—mostly at carpenter work and building and died in 1949 at the age of 67. But Gurine and Peter’s hard work and long hours had laid the foundations upon which Sunny Hill was built.

In 1949 a large barn burned down in the center of Sunny Hill’s grounds from unknown causes. It was replaced by an Annex building which contained a fellows dormitory. This building was later enlarged and became known as the present Edmonton Motel—a 24- unit building with private bath and radio in each room plus two TV lounge rooms.

The year 1949 was the last year for any farming and cows at Sunny Hill. It was the turning point which determined that Sunny Hill would be in the vacation business only from then on.

Large scale tree and stonewall removal took place in the 1940s and 1950s with the result that more than 3 miles of stone walls were removed from the grounds at Sunny Hill—more than 80,000 tons of stonewalls. Most of this removal was accomplished by hand labor. Knolls were knocked off and low areas filled in to produce the 75 acres of landscaped grounds which Sunny Hill has today.

The Arrival of the Fifties and Lake Loree
A miracle happened at Sunny Hill in 1954 when a local bulldozer operator, Bud Young, suggested building a lake on Sunny Hill's grounds where there are no streams or sizable springs of any kind, In fact, for many years Sunny Hill was plagued by lack of good water supplies and the Nicholsens were forced to have wells drilled deeper and deeper.

At Bud Young's suggestion, more than 15 acres of woods were cleared and he proceeded to dig out the stumps and build a dam. He uncovered a considerable number of surface springs which yielded a small amount of water. However, when the melting snows and Spring thaws came, the Nicholsens were amazed to see the lake fill up with water and hold it's level to a surprising degree because of the clay content of the soil. The lake was named Lake Loree in honor of Gail Loree Nicholsen and has been a real "godsend" to Sunny Hill in enabling storage of millions of gallons of water used for resort consumption, boating and fishing, and the maintenance of the golf course.

Stocked with large mouth bass which have been caught and weighed up to 8 pounds, blue gills, sunfish, perch and other species, it affords a most enjoyable sport to the fisherman and many hours of pleasure for the youngsters.

Garwayne Hall Emerges
A long cherished dream became a reality in 1961 when Garwayne Hall was built to provide a very modern and spacious dining hall, second to none anywhere - where guests could enjoy their meals three times a day. This dining room has one of the most spectacular views in all of the Catskills. The building was named after Gary and Wayne Nicholsen. Seating 300 guests, this building also features a very modern kitchen with the finest in cooking equipment such as electric and steam pressure cookers, automatic egg boilers and homemade ice cream making machine which enables the kitchen staff to work under the most ideal conditions.

By 1963 the old barn was remodeled by adding a new wing and was renamed the Edmonton after Arnold's birthplace, Edmonton Alberta, Canada.

Parkchester Motel
Between 1964 and 1965 the 20 room Parkchester Motel was built furnishing the finest accommodations to be found anywhere on the East Coast of the nation. Equipped with private bath, an additional vanity and dressing area, TV, radio, wall to wall carpeting, porch and magnificent view, the units have been well received by everyone. This is Sunny Hill's largest motel and is named after Mae Nicholsen's birthplace, Parkchester, Bronx NY.

Sunny Hill Golf Course
In 1968, the original 9 - hole golf course was opened which provided a very popular attraction to Sunny Hill guests and to the local public. It was a challenging Par 30 course designed and laid out by Arnold and is 1700 yards in length. Of the more than 4000 persons who played it during 1968 only two equaled or broke par. Comments on the new course and clubhouse which provides extremely modern locker and shower facilities, a lounge room, refreshment area, etc., have been most enthusiastic.

This same year the remodeling of the Main House and Annex took place. These were part of the original property. Furnishings were updated and the exterior of both buildings were resurfaced. They were renamed the Viking Main and Viking Annex in honor of the family's Norwegian heritage.

For the 1969 season, Bungalow B and the old Arendal Motel were taken down and were replaced by a new 8 unit Arendal which was named after Peter Nicholsen's hometown in Norway.


The 70's
Major remodeling of the present Recreation Hall occurred between 1971-72. This was originally built in part in 1931. It now holds 300 people comfortably and provides a modern snack bar, game room facilities and a huge dance floor.

In 1972-73 Bungalow E was demolished and replaced with the Country Squire motel. This was the last accommodation constructed giving Sunny Hill exactly 100 rooms. It was named after the surrounding area.

The next five years proved to be difficult with the State of New York mandating waste treatment plants, costing Sunny Hill valuable land and a great deal of money which halted the implementing of new projects.

The 80's
T his new decade brought with it the passing of Arnold Nicholsen. He never saw his last dream come true, the new 9 holes to the golf course to complete it, affectionately called "Amie's Back Nine".

In the mid 80's, New York State mandated new standards for water filtration. For 5 years now, Sunny Hill has had to conform with new regulations and expensive new equipment to meet those standards each year. All this work has been at a cost of over $150,000.00 and is still ongoing.

Further along came the picnic Pavilion at Lake Loree, the Sunny Hill Trolley, the Fire Engine, the Merry Go Round, the Doodle Bug and new buses to transport our guests to and from various day trips.

For our fitness minded guests, there is a hiking trail around Lake Loree, about a half mile long.

The Entertainment Center, under the GarWayne Hall, is complete with miniature golf, bocci ball courts, video games and a pool table.

The 90's
With many of Sunny Hill's nightly entertainment comes the Lake side parties with bonfires, hotdogs, etc. And to provide light along the way to Lake Loree, Sunny Hill installed quaint turn-of-the-century lamp posts. These new lights, also dotted throughout the resort, give Sunny Hill a certain ambiance in the evening hours. During the summer of '93 a new deck was constructed alongside the Clubhouse overlooking Lake Loree. Behind the Grimstad motel a new playground with 2 towers and extra large deck was created.

The Viking Annex was removed, but replaced by the new Austland Motel. It was so named for the farm that Gurine Nicholsen came from so many years ago. This pride of Sunny Hill boasts 2 queen size beds, 25" color TVs and each unit has it's own refrigerator. The motel also holds a work-out room and laundry facilities for the convenience of our guests.

1994 ushers in the 75th Anniversary of Sunny Hill Resort. We are very proud of the long standing traditions, the many guests, old and new. We will endeavor to keep up the standards to which our guests have become accustomed and feel that the summer vacation business is not really a business, but the care and entertainment of a large family.

Personal Notes About the Nicholsens
At the age of 17, Arnold assumed the ever increasing responsibility in the management of Sunny Hill due to Gurine's ill health. He spent many hours of careful planning and thoughts in laying out the various buildings and sports facilities from a point of beauty, practicability, and enjoyment to the vacationist. In addition to making the plans and layouts for the various Buildings and sports plus the golf course he has also planned the landscaping and layout of shrubbery and tree planting.

During the period of 1933-38 he attended the University of Alabama and Columbia University, obtaining B.S. and M.S. degrees in Health and Physical Education and History and minored in social science and psychology. He taught in the field for seven years which included work at high school, Y.M.C.A., Delehanty Institute and three years at Bethany College, West Virginia where he taught Physical Education courses and headed the physical training for Navy V-5 and V-12 men as well as Army Glider-Pilots in training. With the end of World War II Arnold resigned from the teaching field to devote more time to Sunny Hill and the resort business.

He became very active in community affairs, serving as president of the Chamber of Commerce for 7 years, as President of the Fire Company, an officer and worker in many local organizations and activities. From 1954-1964 he ran for office, was elected and served for ten years as Town and County Supervisor and was Chairman of the County Board of Supervisors for two years. During his ten years in office Arnold headed or was a member of almost all of the regular and special committees on the Board. During Arnold's time in office as Supervisor of Greenville this town which is one of the smaller of the 932 towns in New York State at the time received "State Wide Recognition" on at least five occasions for making exceptional progress in modernizing town highways, in equalizing assessments and utilizing business practices which led to saving of many thousands of tax dollars.

As a resort owner his many activities in an average work day of 18 - 19 hours included typing many thousands of letters each year; booking and planning large recreation programs for 6-7 days a week during the five month resort season; square dance calling and piano playing for group singing; hiring and coordinating of staff personnel; guided tours of the local and surrounding areas and other duties too numerous to mention.

Mae had been an invaluable part of the Nicholsen team. Adjusting very rapidly from city life to life in the country, she had stepped into the large responsibility of buying food, planning meals and seeing that meals are served on time to hundreds of guests and employees. In addition, she planned room decorations and took charge of linen purchase and maintenance, made many bookings; treated first aid cases and did countless other chores in her 17-18 hour days - plus brought up three youngsters and maintained a home.

Gary Nicholsen; was born in 1945; Gary attended Albany Business College which has provided him with the valuable education necessary in overseeing the business aspect of the company. His many years of experience as contractor working with heavy equipment and excavation provided valuable input to the many projects which have been a part of the development and evolution of the business. Gary maintains the title of Corporate President.

Wayne Nicholsen; was born in 1952, and holds the title of Corporate Vice President. Wayne's dedication to grounds keeping and golf course maintenance has been a key factor in the appearance of the operation. Wayne is heavily involved in the planning and execution of guest entertainment and activity. That being activities on the premises or and ventures off the Sunny Hill Grounds.

Gail Nicholsen; was born in 1953, and holds the title of Corporate Secretary. Gail was educated at HVCC, Univ. of Mass and at SUNY- Albany. Gail's education has been an asset to her and the company as she is responsible for the day operation of the Sunny Hill Office. The Office is another key factor in the operation. Open year round, dealing with reservations, billing, personnel issues, and the personal contact with all the guests as they are booking, arriving or departing or enjoying a stay at the Sunny Hill Resort.

What they have in common is a remarkable dedication to the company and the family. They have all been part of Sunny Hill as far back as any one of them can remember. This tradition is again being passed down to the fourth generation of the Nicholsen family where several family members are involved in the operation. As new generations are added, the children become a natural part of the family operation which makes Sunny Hill.

Celebrating Our 90th Anniversary in 2009!
To really celebrate this major milestone, we introduced a new Monster Truck and gave away our old one to the winner of the Monster Truck Giveaway Drawing. We added new paddle boats and new marked hiking trails to the resort. At the Thunderhart Golf Complex, the Fireside Lounge was completed.

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