The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-01-03
SWIMMING THE CANAL
Better Skating This Winter
Than in Years Before Rush
ing Business in Skates.

lack Frost and the small boy have ali
WAYS been the best of friends, but sell
dom, if ever, has the grim old man OF
winter been as popular with the small
bow as at present. And no wonder! for
the skating season has begun in real
earnest. h small boys cup OF happi-
ness is full to the brim. and his heart
is as light as the invigorating air. Ev-
erywhere he is in evidence,
ing to his. elder brothers. and sisters
that the winter isn't half as oreary
as the poet tries to make it out to De.
The Morris Canal. which is the hrst
place where residents Of Jersey City Will
look to enjoy the favorite pastlHe, mas
for the past week presented a skatlng
surface which, to use the expression OF
the small boy. is simply bully. rms
glowing piece of news spread ike Wild
fire, and each day the canal has been IN
vaded by d large crowd. Old SKATES
which had enjoyed quiet repose for a
year were brought out OF their hlolng
places and are being utilized for all
they are worth. Those who couid not
boast of the ownership of a pair OF
skates. or else had mislald them. Were
not long in providing themselves Win
new ones. The enterprising hardware
dealer who Irvine a fine skating sea-
son and laid in a new stock OF. skates,
was in high feather. In Greenvliie,
where the skating fever seems TO De at
it's height, the stores have been thor
oughly ~ransacked, and last night many
dealers were completely sold out, and
compelled to turn many customers
away.
BIG RUN ON SKATES.
ct never had such a run on skates
before" said one dealer. Il laid in an
extra. stock before Christmas, and mere
1 am now without a pair"
The big drop in the price of skates
has had much to dc with the demand.
A good pair of cast steel, all clamp,
skates can be bought this year for forty
cents, and rather than pay tWenty-nve
most people would rather pay an al
ditional fifteen cents and secure a new
pair. The forty cent skate Is not MCKEE
plated, but it answers the purpose ss Jus,
one feels like throwing them away
rather than storing them all summer ne
can do so without any great loss.
p%ecially down in G~reenviIle. is in fine
Condition; in fact. it has never been
better. For the first time in years skat-
| ers can fly over the smooth surface
! from one end to the other without tax
| ing to the tow path once to avoid weak
| spots or air holes. Every foot Is frozen
| solid, and no one need fear going IN
der any. of the bridges. Here and there
| snow remain to tell the story OF last
| Thursdays storm. but these in no way
| interfere with the sport. They only
| make skating backwards a trife hazard
Gus. The canal is slightly uncomforta-
BILE at times, in certain places. owing TO
| the crowd, but this does not lessen the
| ardor or enthusiasm of the merry skat-
ers who come for fun and usually nav
SKATING TO BUSINESS.
AL day yesterday the canal was
crowded. A large number OF residents
| of taking a train or trolley car. There
| being a south wind, this was easy. Had
the wind been from the north these
residents would net have reached New
| noon the small boys were in the ma
jority, and until dark they enjoyed
themselves to their hearts content; they
held races, played Skinny. and had a
| general good time. Mr.. Julius Reichert,
| the instructor of the Greenville Turn
Verein, who is an expert, on skates as
we'll as on the horizontal and parallel
bars, cut the grapevine, SKINNED over
| the outer edge and made other fancy
| figures which the small boys tried to
initiate, each attempt resulting IN a IAN.
| Of course there are a rev COLLISIONS
| and some ''fops," but as yet no severe
| accidents nave been reported.
The large pond in the lots opposite
| the Barr-Dinwlddie factory being frozen
into a solid cake of ice. is preferred
by some to the canal. 1t has one ad-
vantage over the canal in that 1t is
| nearer to Ocean avenue. The pond has
been crowded every day for the past
week, and as such well known fancy
| skaters as Bob Jackson and George
Kirner are there every evening, large
| crowds gather to watch them.